‘92 NATIONAL ELECTIONS : Loyal Throng at White House Welcomes Bush : Homecoming: ‘Finish this job in style,’ the President urges appointees and other employees.

President Bush returned to the White House from Houston on Wednesday to the warm embrace of a cheering, flag-waving throng of loyal supporters and urged them to help him “finish this job in style.”

Under leaden skies that seemed to match the mood of many who had gathered on the White House’s South Lawn, the President tried to keep the moment upbeat, joking: “What a fantastic welcome back! Maybe you didn’t read the election returns. It didn’t work out quite the way we wanted.”

Repeating the theme of his concession speech Tuesday night, he urged the crowd of political appointees and other employees to “cooperate fully with the new Administration.” But he acknowledged the bitter pill of political defeat, saying, “Now we will go inside and start readjusting. You have given us a marvelous lift.”

In an emotion-choked voice, Bush concluded: “I’m very grateful to all of you. It’s been a wonderful four years and nobody can take that away from any of us.”

Some employees hugged each other, took pictures and wiped away tears. Many said that as political appointees they had not yet made plans for future employment once President-elect Bill Clinton is inaugurated in January.

The President was accompanied by his wife, Barbara, and Vice President Dan Quayle and his wife, Marilyn.

Earlier Wednesday, Quayle suggested that the Republican ticket may have been robbed of the election by last Friday’s disclosure of a new document in another Iran-Contra perjury indictment of former Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger.

Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Quayle said that “what really put the nail in the coffin” was Iran-Contra independent counsel Lawrence E. Walsh’s release of a Weinberger memo that seemed to show Bush lied when he said he had known nothing of the arms-for-hostages deal.

“To have this come the Friday before the election and the Democrat lawyer from San Francisco--I hope you in the media and others look into that very carefully,” Quayle said. He was referring to James Brosnahan, a California attorney whom Walsh recently appointed to prosecute Weinberger.

Weinberger’s 1986 memo said “the VP”--meaning Bush--was among those who favored the swap of missiles for American hostages.

Quayle’s comment broadened arguments made earlier by his aides that the memo had reversed the momentum of the campaign just when one poll showed the race narrowing to a margin of about 3 percentage points. Aides contended that the memo, heavily publicized in the media, neutralized Republican arguments that Bush was the most trustworthy of the candidates and refocused attention on the economy.

Sources close to Walsh have denied the disclosure was politically timed.

Times staff writer Paul Richter contributed to this story.