THE PARALLELS ARE STRIKING. Both men are in their mid-40s, telegenic, churchgoing Protestants and dedicated family men. Both were elected to Congress in 1976 and later moved to the Senate, where they served together on the Armed Services Committee. They are married to independent, tough-minded women. They come from prominent, wealthy families. But the main thing that James Danforth Quayle, 45, and Albert Gore Jr., 44, have in common this year is that they are fighting each other for the least exciting job in national politics: the vice presidency of the United States.
Although conventional wisdom holds that voters base their choice on the person at the top of the ticket, this year's vice-presidential candidates are attracting plenty of attention. Just three months ago, a number of Republicans ( urged President Bush to dump Quayle because he was perceived as a serious drag on the G.O.P. ticket. But Quayle hung on, gave a well-received speech at the Houston convention, and has since waged an energetic campaign. Gore's choice as the Clinton running mate was widely applauded, and the young Southerners have developed a remarkable campaign synergy that many feel has helped give the Democratic ticket its buoyancy in the polls. One way or another, Dan Quayle and Al Gore will play prominent roles in future presidential dramas.
Which is not to say that both men have not had more than their share of political problems. Quayle has been the brunt of jokes and criticism ever since Bush chose him, seemingly from out of nowhere, as his running mate at the 1988 convention. Quayle was too callow, some said. Too dumb, others suggested. Some experts estimate that his presence on the ticket in 1988 cost Bush as many as 3 percentage points in the popular vote. Since then, a series of flaps -- the great "potatoe" spelling bee, the anatomically correct doll that Quayle brought back from an official trip to Chile, the Murphy Brown "family values" dispute and a host of misstatements and misspoken lines -- only added to the popular view that Quayle was not ready for prime time. "Gore has written a book," says the Democrat's friend, outgoing Colorado Senator Tim Wirth, "and Quayle can't spell."
For his part, Gore was long criticized for being stiff-necked and arrogant, a policy wonk without humility or a sense of proportion. His brief and unsuccessful run for President in 1988 was seen by some as an example of overweening ambition. Gore's recent book, Earth in the Balance, an environmentalist manifesto and call to arms that includes the idea of banishing the internal-combustion engine "in, say, 25 years," has been blasted by Republicans as elitist nonsense. Quayle told a group of produce farmers in Fresno, California, last week that "with Clinton and Gore, you can say goodbye to water, goodbye to food and goodbye to jobs." Gore has candidly admitted that if he had known he would be running for Vice President this year, he might have toned down his provocative book a bit.