The 1988 vice presidential campaign became a quagmire for Dan Quayle and the National Republican Party. To regain their footing and rehabilitate Quayle, the Republicans adopted two classic strategies for coping (often studied in the academy): rhetorical apologia and minimal exposure. During the campaign, an accusation was made that Quayle used his powerful family connections to gain a post in the journalism department of the National Guard to avoid active military service during the Vietnam era. The accusation was accompanied by criticisms of Quayle's poor academic record and his undistinguished Senate career. In the first stage of the Quayle campaign, it seemed every new bit of information that emerged concerning Quayle damaged the Bush-Quayle ticket. A second stage was characterized by the basic elements of rhetorical apologia: denial, bolstering, differentiation, transcendence, and minimization. In a third phase of the campaign, Quayle's handlers began to quarantine him from curious reporters and only allowed him to appear before audiences guaranteed to react favorably. George Bush appeared with his running mate only twice, and Quayle's name disappeared from bumper stickers. Quayle became the first vice presidential candidate to be gracefully removed from the ticket without being removed. (Sixty-eight notes are included.) (SG)