Reagan to Woo State Voters at Rally for Bush

President Reagan will confer privately with Vice President George Bush on Wednesday before they appear at a joint rally in Los Angeles to spur the President’s supporters in the key electoral state.

White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater also said today the two men had not yet discussed the controversy surrounding Bush’s selection of Sen. Dan Quayle (R-Ind.) as his running mate and revelations that Quayle may have used his family influence to avoid the draft in the Vietnam War.

Noontime Rally

Fitzwater said Reagan and Bush would confer for up to an hour before each was scheduled to address a noontime political rally at the Century Plaza, where the Reagans will spend several days before heading back to their mountaintop ranch in the Santa Ynez Mountains.

“They will meet together for some period before the rally,” the spokesman said. “They haven’t talked at all since the convention” except for Reagan’s congratulatory phone call after Bush’s speech Thursday night.

Fitzwater, announcing that plans were in the works for Reagan campaign stops in eight to 15 cities between Labor Day and the election, said he had heard no discussion of Reagan and Quayle appearing together.

Asked if the President still considered Quayle “an excellent choice,” Fitzwater said, “I’m certain.”

Response Refused

Fitzwater also refused to respond to remarks by Senate Republican leader Bob Dole of Kansas, who asserted Sunday that Quayle’s presence on the ticket could harm GOP chances of garnering votes of the Reagan Democrats.

“Sen. Quayle is the vice presidential candidate, and he’s a good one,” the spokesman said.