European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Dan Quayle a deep fixed by the Gulf crisis by Julia Malone Cox news service at a grim session in the White House the Emir of Kuwait poured out his anguish Over iraqis brutal devastation of his country to president Bush and a Circle of officials including vice president Dan Quayle. The Emir in his flowing Robe and the president then walked outside to speak before waiting television cameras and reporters. The vice president meanwhile quietly headed to his cubbyhole White House quarters just Steps from the Oval office. The crisis in the persian Gulf has pushed Quayle a already Low profile further out of Public View As the Public trains its eyes on Bush his generals and the menacing iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein. In the first Days after Iraq invaded Kuwait on aug. 2, Quayle attended nearly All of the strategy sessions. He helicopter red to Camp David for the meeting at which Bush made crucial decisions about offering troops to defend saudi Arabia. But As the situation heated up Quayle went on his planned visit to latin America and made Only Brief interruptions in his family a rafting vacation in Arizona. Throughout that period Quayle argued in an interview he kept in close touch with Bush or his aides. Quot As Long As you re informed Quot he said Quot its not imperative that you be therefor a quote a photo  a even so the vice president who has suffered through the late night to jokes for two years faces renewed scepticism in the latest world developments. In part Quayle also suffers from comparisons with Bush s own experience As vice president. A former Cia chief with a great Deal of foreign experience Bush served As chief  Ronald Reagan a crisis management team a backup organization formed after the. Assassination attempt on Reagan. When Bush took office he reorganized the National Security operation and there was no comparable Post for Quayle. Moreover Bush a own activism on the International stage has left Quayle far away in the wings. At a luncheon sponsored by the conservative Hudson Institute in september Quayle was asked bluntly about Why Quot people say you be been deep fixed by the Gulf  in slightly stilted language Quayle rejoined Quot obviously you would not anticipate for me to Tell you the advice that i Render to the president on a Day to Day basis about the persian Gulf or any other  he added Quot i was involved at the very beginning in formulating the policy with the  at the White House Bush s aides ardently defended Quayle. A Dan Quayle a performance has been everything the president wanted Quot White House chief of staff John Sununu told Abc to in a prelude to Quayle s appearance recently on nightlife. By Many accounts including his own Quayle is no shrinking Violet in White House strategy sessions. But the administration is mum on the vice president s exact contributions. Quot i m not going to Tell you Quot snapped Sununu. Quot you be just got to take  americans if anything have grown less sure about the vice president the longer he holds office. In a Wall Street journal poll 69 percent of those surveyed said they were Quot uncomfortable Quot with the idea of Quayle taking Over As president. Quot simply put a said pollster Peter Hart Quot the american Public sleeps that much less soundly knowing Dan Quayle a in the vice presidential  Quayle said the poll asked a Quot jaded question. Quot i know if someone would ask me about the situation a hypothetical question about the president not being around id be nervous too Quot he said. The fact of the matter asserted Quayle is that most americans done to spend much time thinking about vice presidents at All. With some exceptions history shows him to be Correct. The press spends relatively Little time covering the vice president. No Washington based reporter has Quayle As a primary concern. As he crisscrossed the country raising funds for Republican campaigns Quayle is rarely accompanied by members of the National press corps. Unfortunately for Quayle a group did go along for his tour of South America last March. Quot the serious coverage was about this much Quot said his press Secretary David Beckwith holding his fingers an Inch apart. What made headlines was the tale of How vice president trailed by his entourage and scolded by his wife Marilyn purchased an anatomically exaggerated male doll in Chile. Quot All anybody remembers of the trip to latin America is that he wandered into this Little shop Quot and bought the doll Beckwith laments. Despite the Lack of positive results the even tempered Quayle has doggedly made himself accessible to the press. In the two years since he emerged from obscurity As a Youthful Indiana senator his eyes have lost some of the vacant stare that marked his first startled encounters with the worlds Glare. He appears Well armed with detailed answers and he peppers remarks with references not Only to Bush but to foreign leaders who be paid visits to Quayle. Still Quayle a pronouncements Are sometimes easily shaken. In an interview he first asserted that Quot hopefully Quot the Gulf situation would be resolved peacefully. But he added of americans Quot their patience will grow quite  pressed to say if that Means the president must take military action soon Quayle backpedal a Quot perhaps i should rephrase the words or at least amplify on it when i say patience growing  because first of All in Vietnam there was a great Deal of patience a until about five or six years after we were  later on nightlife Quayle theorized that wars in the Middle East Are usually Brief. Host Ted Koppel appeared surprised As he listed a number of longstanding struggles in the recent history of the Region. Quayle quickly shifted positions conceding that the Iran Iraq War dragged on for eight years. Overall Quayle a broadcast with Koppel ended without a live to mishap. Nonetheless the television monologue writers found fresh inspiration. Johnny Carson proclaimed the following night that Quayle had told Koppel that Iraq s Saddam Hussein was Quot Only a totalitarian in the sense that he a got total  even Quayle a position As chairman of the . Space Council has gone somewhat sour. Rarely has Nasa had so Many nagging woes. Quayle brushed aside problems with the shuttle and space Telescope As the Quot challenges Quot of pushing technology to the limits. Quot they re to be expected Quot he said. Quot unfortunately they get  much of Quayle s Energy is turned in the direction of the Republican party. Following the example set by his Mentor and predecessor Quayle has concentrated on raising Money for gop groups and candidates no matter How Humble. So far he a brought nearly $ 14 million into gop coffers. That s Small potatoes next to Bush s estimated $70 million in fund raising. But the vice president has pleased the National party and incidentally made a number of friends outside of Washington s Beltway. His slow acceptance by the Public at Large Quot just reflects the fact that to a lot of people the vice president is still not Well known Quot said Charles Black spokesman for the National Republican committee. He argued that polls show a Quot gradual improvement Quot in Quayle s standing. However surveys taken by the Gallup organization Point the other direction. In August 1988,41 percent of those asked indicated that the Little known Quayle was qualified to be president. By november of this year that percentage had dropped to 31 percent. Even less assuring for Quayle 49 percent said in november that Bush should drop Quayle from the ticket in 1992. Republicans say the chances of that happening Are slim to none despite talk of a gop ticket with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen. Colin Powell taking Quayle a place and wooing Black America to the Republican Side. It in t going to happen said a number of republicans because Bush has already committed to keeping Quayle because Bush values loyalty and because even if the reelection Outlook were dim firing Quayle would be a sign of panic that would do further damage. White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater noted that Bush had suffered from some Low poll ratings when he was vice president. Quot to a Large degree vice presidents have to suffer this indignity just by virtue of the office a said Fitzwater adding that Bush thinks Quayle is doing a Quot Fine  saturday october 27, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13