CAMPAIGN ’88 : ‘Elvis’ Helps Quayle Tour Change Its Tune

The anticipation built for days. After weeks in towns like Ft. Smith, Ark., and Stone Mountain, Ga., the small-town campaign of Republican vice presidential nominee Dan Quayle was to spend a night this week amid the bright lights of Memphis, Tenn. This was the home of the late Elvis Presley, and aboard the Quayle plane, campaign aides would let no one forget it.

Presley tunes blared on takeoff and landing from cities like Muskegon, Mich., and Evansville, Ind. Rumors spread that Elvis was alive and would endorse the Bush/ Quayle ticket. On landing in Memphis, a hired Elvis impersonator bounded up the back stairs and crooned a few bars of “Love Me Tender” to the bemused candidate. “I don’t sing,” Quayle said. “I listen.” Reporters then headed off for a candlelight tour of Presley’s mansion, Graceland.

Rather than campaign the next morning in Memphis, which is 54% black, Quayle headed to a high school in the all-white suburb of Everett. But adviser Ken Khachigian kept the Elvis theme alive, drafting a speech suggesting how the King might describe the policies of Democrat Michael S. Dukakis.

Dukakis’ prison furlough plan, Quayle read, might be called: “Jailhouse Rock.” And his defense policy: “Don’t Be Cruel.”