HUNTINGTON - The song blaring out of the public address system in the Huntington North High School gymnasium was Hoosier John Mellencamp's "Small Town," but the event was anything but small time.

The several thousand enthusiastic supporters were on hand for former Vice President Dan Quayle's formal announcement that he is stepping back into big-time politics - a run for the presidency of the United States.

Quayle returned to his hometown Wednesday to make official his intention to seek the Republican nomination for the nation's highest office.

"I've come back home to Huntington today to announce that I will seek and I will win the presidency of the United States," Quayle said, evoking a rousing ovation from his hometown supporters.

He said he's confident of a successful campaign because of the strong support he's always received from Huntington and Indiana.

"Every campaign I've begun here in Huntington has resulted in victory," he said. "And this one will be no different."

Quayle, sounding the theme of his campaign, said the American people want more respect for traditional values and a restoration of the respect for government, particularly the presidency.

"Here is why I'm running. We're coming to the end of the dishonest decade of Bill Clinton and Al Gore, and America needs a fresh start," Quayle said. "Yes, we are a wealthy and prosperous nation. But the source of our greatness comes from the spirit of our people and the values we choose to honor in our lives: faith, respect, integrity, courage and patriotism.

"These values, which are so important to building strong families, are under assault," he said. "The time has come to reset the moral compass, because prosperity without values is no prosperity at all."

Quayle denounced the Clinton administration's failure to follow a consistent foreign policy and to provide principled leadership on the world's stage.

"When President Bush and I left office six years ago, America was more than a superpower, and the presidency was more than an office - it was a position of moral leadership," he said. "Nobody questioned our credibility. Nobody questioned our commitment to do what was right for America. And nobody questioned we would sacrifice national security for campaign cash.

"The picture today is much different. The world sees a president who has squandered the moral authority of his office," Quayle said. "They see a president and a vice president who submit to international institutions and compromise our sovereignty. They see an irresponsible administration that has cut America's armed forces to the bone, insulted the men and women in uniform and used the military as a laboratory for their social experiments.

"We've had enough on-the-job training. The next president must be someone who already knows the job. You don't learn foreign policy from briefing books or crash courses," he concluded.

In addition to emphasizing traditional values and restoring America's reputation in foreign affairs, Quayle said his administration would reverse the trend of more and higher taxes and more federal government intrusion into the lives of all Americans.

"Every tax hike takes away from your freedom. Every regulation takes away from your freedom. A big government takes away from your freedom," he said. "I'm going to fight to win and I'm going to fight for your freedom.

"Starting today, we will return this great country to the dreams of our forefathers. I will lead that fight with every ounce of energy I have, every single day of this campaign, and every single day I serve as president of the United States of America."

Despite the excitement of the day, the trail ahead for the Quayle campaign is an uphill one, even according to his closest advisers.

Former Indiana Sen. Dan Coats, who introduced Quayle Wednesday, acknowledged the public perception of Quayle is less than favorable. According to the most recent political polls, he lags far behind front-runners Texas Gov. George W. Bush and president of the American Red Cross, Elizabeth Dole.

The most recent poll conducted by CNN and Time Magazine shows Quayle a distant fourth at 6 percent, compared to 50 percent favoring Bush.

How can Quayle make up such a large deficit? Coats says it's simply a matter of Quayle going out and being himself.

"Dan differentiates himself because he has a consistent record that goes all the way back to 1976," Coats said. "People today are going to be looking for consistency and integrity of message.

"My advice to him is to go out, be yourself," Coats added. "People will realize that they should give Dan a second chance."

Former New Hampshire Gov. and White House Chief of Staff John Sununu concurred, saying any focus on opinion polls at this early date is meaningless.

"Polls right now don't mean a thing," Sununu said. "Right now, it makes you a target, if anything.

"Besides, Al Gore has two big liabilities he has to overcome - Bill Clinton and Al Gore." [[In-content Ad]]