Quayle gets chance in TV debate

Press, 6 October 1988, Page 8

Quayle gets chance in TV debate

NZPA-Reuter Washington The Republican VicePresidential candidate, Dan Quayle, will get a chance to confound his critics today in a 90-min-ute nationally televised debate with his Democratic rival, Lloyd Bentsen. “I look forward to a great opportunity ... for me to be able to communicate directly with the American people,” Mr Quayle told campaign workers in Washington before leaving for Omaha, Nebraska, where the debate will be staged. Mr Bentsen and the Democratic Presidential candidate, Michael Dukakis, have been ridiculing Mr Quayle, aged 41, in the belief that doubts

about the Indiana lawmaker’s abilities will help the Democrats in the November 8 election. A new national opinion poll indicated that George Bush’s lead over Mr Dukakis has slipped since their September 25 debate and that Mr Quayle may be hurting Mr Bush’s chances. , In the CBS “New York Times” poll, released on Tuesday night, Mr Bush’s eight-point lead of 47 to 39 per cent before the debate slipped to an insignificant two percentage points — 48 to 46 per cent. The new poll of 1034 people conducted from October 1 to 3 had a margin of error of plus or minus three points. The poll indicated that

Mr Quayle may be hurting the ticket with many people questioning his ability to serve as President.

Asked if they thought Mr Quayle understood the complicated problems of being President, 40 per cent said they believed he did not; 41 per cent said he did.

Asked the same question about Mr Bentsen, 71 per cent said he understood the problems while 13 per cent disagreed. Mr Quayle has been dogged by charges he used family influence to join the home-based National Guard to avoid combat duty in the Vietnam War. He has also been embarrassed by his mediocre academic record.

They also acknowledge that Mr Bentsen, aged 67, is not the most dynamic television performer. While the No. 2 men on the ticket prepared for the spotlight, Mr Bush and Mr Dukakis on Tuesday traded charges over each other’s commitment to poor families and children. Mr Bush, in California, proposed a SUS2OO million (5NZ325.4 million) programme to encourage teenagers to volunteer for community service and criticised “the liberalswho can always outbid us.” Mr Dukakis’s office countered by accusing the Reagan Administration of gutting programmes aimed at the poor.