Quayle Faces New Charge That Record Was Inflated

Sen. Dan Quayle’s shakedown campaign as the GOP vice presidential candidate continued swinging between offense and defense Friday, with the Indiana senator blasting Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis on gun control, while also facing new charges about his past.

The 41-year-old lawmaker was hit by a new report alleging that his official resume may have been inflated to suggest that Quayle ran a key government investigative office in Indiana a year before the office had even been created.

In its Friday editions, the Cleveland Plain Dealer said Quayle’s resume listed him as having served in 1970 and 1971 as the chief investigator for the consumer protection division of the Indiana attorney general’s office. However, the newspaper said, state records show that Quayle, then a night-school law student, held an entry-level daytime job as a research assistant for the attorney general during most of that time period and served in the chief’s post for only two months in mid-1971, just as that department was being organized.

Called ‘Cheap Shot’

David Prosperi, Quayle’s spokesman, attacked the report as a “cheap shot.” Quayle himself dismissed it as one of several “side events, many of which are untrue,” cooked up by critics to undermine the credibility of his campaign.

However, Quayle acknowledged to reporters here that his service in the consumer division had been brief and that the resume could be in error.

When asked about another one of those “side events,” Quayle refused to authorize the release of college records. Quayle’s father has told interviewers that his son--who has acknowledged a “less than stellar” performance as a political science major at DePauw University--had to talk his way into Indiana University’s night law program. Other reports have suggested that Quayle’s admission coincided with a large gift to the university from his grandfather, an influential newspaper publisher.

“I don’t want to release all those records,” Quayle joked. “I don’t want you to go through and pore over all those fairly mediocre grades I got.”

Gun Control Issue

Meanwhile, in Montana, where pro-gun sentiment is strong, Quayle attacked Dukakis for both supporting strong gun control laws and presiding over a controversial program that allowed convicted felons weekend prison furloughs.

“America would be much better off if our opponent believed in crime control instead of gun control,” Quayle said.

He argued that current gun laws throughout the country were “very adequate.” And Quayle said he saw no need to impose longer waiting periods on gun buyers before they could pick up their weapons, as even President Reagan--a longtime opponent of gun control--recently suggested might be worth considering.

Quayle sounded upbeat about developments when he took a telephone call from Vice President George Bush while flying between campaign stops. “Hey, it’s going great,” he told Bush. “ . . . I tell you the folks are with you.”

Military Buildup

In South Dakota, Quayle launched into an impassioned defense of the Reagan Administration’s military buildup, arguing strongly for the MX missile, the Strategic Defense Initiative and an increase in naval strength. He made no mention of agricultural issues or the drought that has devastated wheat and livestock production in that state this year.

Quayle is from a leading corn producing state, but he nevertheless at times seems uncomfortable answering questions about farm legislation. When asked Thursday night about upcoming negotiations in Congress to renew the current farm bill, Quayle said simply: “The farm bill’s a good one. What we have to do is build on that. Exports are very important.”

Asked then what his message to farmers might be, Quayle looked puzzled. “My message?” he asked, then smiled at a crowd of a supporters nearby.