GOP Quandary Over Quayle : Bush Aides Try to Defuse Flap Over His National Guard Service : Nomination of Senator Due Tonight

As controversy swirled, aides of Vice President George Bush met in crisis sessions today to try to control damage created by suggestions that newly minted running mate Dan Quayle used the influence of his powerful Indiana family to secure a safe posting with the part-time National Guard and avoid active duty in Vietnam.

A retired executive of the Pulliam family newspaper company said today that he made phone calls to ease the way of the Republican vice presidential candidate into the Indiana National Guard during the Vietnam War.

Senior aides to Bush were “continuing to explore” the controversy even as the Indiana senator’s nomination this evening approached. Campaign spokeswoman Alixe Glenn said “not a single thought is being given” to dropping Quayle from the ticket.

Bush gave his embattled running mate a ringing endorsement, saying he could not have found a better man. Marilyn Quayle said her husband “wasn’t a draft dodger.”

‘He Should Move Now’

But Republican National Committeeman Steve Roberts of Iowa said, “If the vice president finds there’s anything to these reports, he should move now, put (Kansas Sen. Bob) Dole on the ticket and get it over with.”

Rep. Robert K. Dornan, co-chairman of Bush’s campaign in California said, “It requires a Checkers-like speech (of contrition), and he must do it--must do it quickly, before this gets out of hand.”

In 1969, Quayle was 22, no longer deferred from the draft and vulnerable to being conscripted and sent to Vietnam. National Guard units were rarely activated for Vietnam duty, and many men joined the guard as a way to avoid the draft and likely Vietnam duty.

Quayle is a member of the Pulliam family which controls a number of newspapers including the Indianapolis News.

‘Multitude’ of Friends

Retired Maj. Gen. Wendell C. Phillippi--who was managing editor of the News and worked for Quayle’s grandfather, Eugene C. Pulliam--said he contacted Guard acquaintances on behalf of Quayle.

Phillippi said he called on his “multitude” of friends within the Guard when Quayle applied in 1969.

Quayle, a hard-liner on defense matters, has said he sought Guard duty so he could attend law school. A Bush aide said that the matter was discussed with Quayle during the process that led to his selection for the Bush ticket, and that Quayle had denied using influence to gain admittance to the Guard.

Quayle’s press aide, Jeff Nesbit, sought this morning to describe the sequence of events in 1969.

‘Collective Recollection’

On the issue of whether telephone calls were made to try to get Quayle in the Guard, Nesbit said the “collective recollection” of Quayle and his father “was that phone calls may have been made on his behalf.” He did not elaborate.

Robert Teeter, who oversaw the vice presidential selection process that resulted in Quayle’s selection Tuesday, had said Wednesday that his military service had been raised during the interview process.

“The question was, I believe, was there any pull or some influence in some way for him to get into the National Guard. My impression is the answer is absolutely not,” Teeter said. “He, at some point said, ‘I simply applied, like anyone else.’ ”

George W. Bush, Bush’s eldest son, told reporters today that “the thing that’s important is he didn’t go to Canada. . . . Remember, in 1968, Canada was an option. He didn’t go. Let’s keep it in generational perspective.”