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GORE'S CONGRESSIONAL CAreer was a good deal more productive. In the House he conducted investigations of the contact-lens industry, organ transplants and the Tennessee Valley Authority. In the Senate he concentrated on environmental legislation and arms control, immersing himself in the technical details of START, Star Wars and the proposal in the early '80s for a nuclear freeze. His main concern, he said, was finding a balance between "national power and security on the one hand and long-term human survival on the other." Recalls a congressional friend and colleague, Representative Tom Downey of New York: "Al worked harder than everyone and shone brighter than everyone."
In the current campaign, the two men are playing very different roles. Quayle, coming off his star turn at the Republican Convention in Houston, is largely campaigning alone, appearing in smaller towns and before smaller crowds than Bush, always with an eye to keeping conservatives in the G.O.P. fold. Gore, meanwhile, spends much of his time campaigning side-by-side with Clinton, either on the Democrats' now fabled bus tours or in joint Television interviews that underscore the Democratic team's apparent compatibility.
Quayle's campaign speeches stress his active role in the Bush Administration. His case is stronger than his lightweight reputation would suggest. As Bush's main contact with Congress, he was crucial in getting Congress to sustain 35 of Bush's 36 vetoes. In foreign trade issues -- especially where Latin America and the Far East are concerned -- Quayle has been quietly effective in promoting U.S. commercial interests. He has played a key role in helping revive NASA and the space program.
But Quayle's greatest contribution has been his leadership of the controversial President's Council on Competitiveness, a kind of appellate court for businesses that feel overburdened by federal regulations, especially environmental ones. The council has served simultaneously to win business friends for the Bush Administration and to help Quayle enhance his right-wing credentials.
In addition to bragging about the panel's achievements, the Vice President and his staff privately rejoice in the fact that this time out Quayle is not the main liability to the ticket. As former Education Secretary Bill Bennett, a Quayle ally who is now a fellow at the Hudson Institute, said last July: "When George Bush was at 85% in the polls, was Dan Quayle doing anything differently? No. George Bush is where he is politically because of George Bush."
If Quayle is satisfied not to have hurt the President's re-election chances, Gore appears to be giving Clinton a real lift. Their tactic of campaigning in tandem allows the two men to reinforce their "yuppies-for-change" image. Moreover, Gore's presence helps compensate for certain Clinton weaknesses. Clinton has no Washington experience; Gore does. Clinton has had serious marital troubles; Gore has not. Clinton did not serve in Vietnam; Gore did. Clinton has equivocated on the Persian Gulf War; Gore supported it (although he has lately taken aim at the Bush Administration's policy toward Iraq both before and after the war).