Let George Do It, She Says

‘To take a very nice, good young man (Quayle) and trash him is not very nice.’

Barbara Bush took a few dance steps with a senior citizens’ aerobics class, cheered on shuffleboard players and narrated a slide show about her public life on a campaign swing Thursday through Seal Beach Leisure World.

With less than four weeks to go in her husband’s presidential campaign, a smiling Mrs. Bush showed no sign of fatigue as she carried on with what she later said was her most important job: “Speaking well of George Bush.”

And that she did. While her husband, the Republican presidential nominee, prepared for Thursday night’s final debate with Democratic nominee Michael S. Dukakis, Mrs. Bush asked about 400 seniors--who had been gathered by the Leisure World Republican Women, Federated, in Clubhouse 2--to vote for her husband Nov. 8.

“America needs a man of experience,” she said, with a picture of her husband on a huge slide screen behind her. “A man who’s met and negotiated with world leaders. A good guy. A strong man. A church man. A family man. A man of principles with strong values.”

Though she appeared to be relaxed and having fun, Mrs. Bush confessed to reporters later that she is counting “every single second” until the campaign is over.

“I’m ready for it to end now,” she said in an interview backstage.

Mrs. Bush said she was particularly disturbed by “terrible, ugly” campaign signs she had seen between Los Angeles and Seal Beach Thursday.

“I don’t like unpleasantness,” she said. “I sort of grit my teeth through it.”

Though she stuck mainly with non-controversial issues, Mrs. Bush did come to the defense of her husband’s running mate, Sen. Dan Quayle (R-Ind.), who has not fared well with the press or in the polls.

“I think the treatment of Dan Quayle has been unbelievable,” Mrs. Bush said. “To take a very nice, good young man and trash him is not very nice.”

Only once did she step onto dangerous ground for a candidate’s wife: At the risk of alienating New York Mets fans, she admitted that she rooted for the Los Angeles Dodgers when she and her husband attended Wednesday night’s National League playoff game at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda “is a good friend of ours,” she said.

Then, throwing all caution to the wind, Mrs. Bush said “you bet” when asked if she intends to root for the Dodgers in the upcoming World Series with the Oakland Athletics.

While the impact of this declaration is yet to be felt in Northern California, Mrs. Bush chuckled as she gave it a second thought while walking away from reporters.

“I’ll get in trouble for my Dodger answer,” she told aides.