Ex-VP Quayle tells Palin to 'just be yourself'

INDIANAPOLIS -- Dan Quayle has a little advice for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin: "Just be yourself."

Quayle speaks from experience: Twenty years ago, an older, experienced Republican presidential hopeful surprised many when he tapped the 40-something, little-known Indiana senator to be his running mate.

The former vice president said he's spoken with Palin since Sen. John McCain chose her for the GOP ticket in late August.

"I basically said, 'Look, just be yourself. You were selected by John McCain because of who you are and what you have done, and don't let them take anything away from you. Just go out and be yourself,'" he said.

Quayle said he sees several parallels between the 1988 campaign and this year's race.

Neither he nor the Alaska governor was well known before being chosen for the national ticket. Both were thrust into the spotlight as parents of young children -- Quayle was 41 when he was elected vice president and has three children; Palin is 44 and has five children. Both were criticized for not having enough experience to handle the job.

"She has more executive experience than Barack Obama," Quayle told reporters Wednesday after campaigning for former aide Greg Zoeller, the Republican candidate for Indiana attorney general.

Quayle said McCain's selection of Palin drew fresh attention to the GOP campaign.

"It sort of froze everything for a moment," he said. "It forced the American people to take another really hard look at John McCain."

He hopes Republicans see results similar to 1988, when former President George H.W. Bush selected Quayle as his running mate.

"We went up in the polls, and we ended up winning 40 states," Quayle said.

Recent national polls have shown Obama, the Illinois Democrat, ahead of McCain. The race is tight in Indiana, which hasn't chosen a Democrat as president since 1964.

Some Republicans in the state -- including Gov. Mitch Daniels -- have said McCain should visit Indiana to bolster GOP support. He has not visited the state since July 1, when he spoke to a sheriff's group, while Obama has made six Indiana stops since mid-July. Palin plans a rally Friday in Noblesville, about 20 miles north of Indianapolis.

Quayle cautioned against counting McCain out of the race and predicted Indiana would remain a red state on Nov. 4.

"I don't view this as a battleground state," he said. "I think it's a little premature for Sen. Obama and his team to be measuring for curtains in the White House, because John McCain's a fighter and he'll fight until the very end."