Book: Bush Wrote ‘I Blew It’ After Picking Quayle

Within days of selecting Dan Quayle for the 1988 vice presidential nomination, George Bush wrote in his diary: “I blew it,” a new biography of the former president says.

No sooner had Quayle been chosen by Bush than stories appeared that Quayle had joined the Indiana National Guard to avoid service in Vietnam.

Historian Herbert S. Parmet wrote that as Quayle became the butt of jokes, Bush “did everything he could to show his confidence in the younger man.”

But in his diary, Bush said: “It was my decision, and I blew it, but I’m not about to say that I blew it.”

A publicity release distributed with “George Bush, The Life of a Lone Star Yankee” said Parmet had exclusive access to letters and journal entries.

A Bush spokesman said the quote was taken out of context. Bush was talking about how the media would use the selection to bash his management style, spokesman Jim McGrath said Saturday.

“We checked all the subsequent diary entries,” McGrath said. “Bush always voices confidence that Quayle would survive the feeding frenzy and go on to be the great vice president that he was.”

Quayle was out of the country and unavailable for comment.