ASHINGTON - Dan Quayle questioned the White House credentials of Governor George W. Bush yesterday, saying the country did not need another leader with no foreign policy experience.
Quayle, who was vice president under President Bush, Bush's father, but now finds himself in an unequal struggle against the son, said he would be ready from day one if elected in 2000, comparing Bush's record with Bill Clinton's lack of experience when he became president in 1993.
''I don't believe we need another president who has inexperience in the conduct of foreign policy. There's only so much you can get from reading and briefings,'' Quayle told the National Press Club when asked about Bush's candidacy.
Quayle never mentioned the name of his rival, nor that of his father.
Quayle finds himself almost out of money in a Republican presidential field being dominated by Bush. While Bush finished the second quarter of this year with almost $30 million in the bank, Quayle reported financial liabilities.
Many analysts say Quayle's campaign will be on life support if he fails to perform well in a nonbinding ''straw poll'' of Republicans in Iowa at the end of next week.
