White House Ties Democrats to Tax Hikes : Budget: But party officials said fallout from the deficit package would help them make gains at Republican expense in the upcoming elections.

Top White House officials Sunday sought to blame Democrats for increased taxes included in the budget agreement just passed by Congress, but Democratic officials predicted that fallout from the deficit package would help them make strong gains in the upcoming election.

Vice President Dan Quayle sought to portray tax increases in the five-year, $490-billion deficit-reduction package as a bitter pill that Republicans were forced to swallow to get the best compromise available in a system of divided government.

“It’s clear that the Democrats got their tax increases and we Republicans got the spending cuts,” Quayle said of the deficit package during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

His comments echoed those of President Bush, who during a pre-election campaign swing through the country is telling voters that if they don’t like the budget and tax plans, they should elect more Republicans to Congress.

Quayle said Sunday that Bush could not veto the final budget package, despite his opposition to the tax increases, because of “the sensitivity” of the situation in the Persian Gulf.

He also insisted that the package was a success in terms of instituting real controls over federal spending and added that the President would not suffer long-term political damage because of the agreement.

But Ron Brown, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, argued that the budget battle has given the Democrats a major political victory right before the election.

He said that the party’s candidates will do well in the upcoming elections because the party had stood up for tax fairness by requiring the wealthy to pay a larger share of the tax burden than they previously had done.

“It’s a much fairer package because the Democrats were there to look out for the working men and women of the country,” Brown said.

“I think Democrats are listening to the people, and the people are saying we’ve had enough of Reaganomics. Because Democrats kept fighting, the middle class is much better off than they would have been under the President’s budget plan,” Brown added in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week With David Brinkley.”

Quayle, on the other hand, credited Republicans for winning spending cuts and “tough enforcement provisions to get those spending cuts.”

He also challenged political analysts who contend that Republican congressional candidates are attempting to distance themselves from President Bush in the wake of widespread criticism of his handling of the budget.

“I’ve been out there, and I can tell you that Republican candidates are for the President, they think he has been a strong President and a good President,” Quayle said. “They believe this (budget agreement) was the best available option.”

Separately, White House Chief of Staff John H. Sununu, who has come under fire for his role in the budget negotiations, predicted that Republican candidates would not be damaged by the budget and tax package in the upcoming election.

Sununu said that he believes Republicans should be able to “hold their own” in the Senate and post small losses in the House of Representatives, while making gains in the gubernatorial races around the country.

“The Democrats said if you want a budget, you have to pay the ransom of higher taxes. But I think you will see a recovery very quickly,” for Bush and other Republicans, S!nunu said on “This Week with David Brinkley.”

Sununu also said that a new poll by Newsweek magazine showing Bush’s approval rating at only 48% represents just a temporary blip on the screen. “There are six more years of this presidency for sure,” Sununu said.

Staff Writer Don Shannon contributed to this story.