While outlining reasons why a Republican will win the White House in 1996, former Vice President Dan Quayle dismissed claims that GOP hopefuls will destroy each other and pave the way for another Democratic victory.

"The national media seem genuinely concerned and worried about us. Since when is the national media concerned about the Republican Party? Don't listen to them, listen to Rush, because he's right," Quayle said, invoking radio commentator and local favorite son Rush Limbaugh.

Focusing on traditional conservative themes such as lower taxes, welfare reform and school choice, Quayle elicited an enthusiastic standing ovation from the crowd of 997 that heard him speak Monday night at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

The policies of President Bill Clinton have turned out to be quite different from those he campaigned on during his 1992 defeat of George Bush and Quayle, the former vice president said.

"If the American people knew all that in 1992, I would still be vice president of the United States," Quayle said.

The burden of federal taxes on Americans has risen too much in recent decades, Quayle said, jumping from an average of 2 percent of income in 1948 to 24 percent. As a result, the Internal Revenue Service has become far too powerful, employing as many workers as the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Central Intelligence Agency combined.

Quayle called for a simplified tax code and the elimination of most deductions.

"Keep the home mortgage deduction," he said. "After that let's have one low, flat tax rate that's fair for all Americans."

He also said welfare should be eliminated rather than merely reformed.

"Let's not just tinker with the system," Quayle said. "It doesn't help the poor. It doesn't help the homeless. It doesn't help the disadvantaged.

"The system is a destroyer of families. It penalizes marriage, discourages work and subsidizes illegitimacy."

Since the Great Society days of the 1960s, Quayle said $5 trillion has been spent on welfare with counterproductive results. Compassion, he added, is not measured in federal dollars.

"That is absolute nonsense," Quayle said. "Do you know what shows compassion? Taking someone off welfare and putting them in a paying job."

Since the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, strides toward such reforms have been made. But true conservative change won't occur until the executive and legislative branches are unified under the Republican Party banner, Quayle said.

"Folks, it is time for a real leader -- a Republican president for a change, please," he said.

"Bill Clinton is a president who governs liberal, talks conservative and tells us he is a moderate. If he is going to say over and over and over again that he is a moderate, I am going to say over and over and over again that I am a world champion speller," he said, making light of a well-publicized flub he made as vice president.

As for his own decision not to run for president, during a question and answer session Quayle said that after careful consideration, he doubted 1996 was the right year for him.

"But I will tell you, I thought about this when I made my decision not to run: I have seven presidential elections to go before I'm 73," Quayle said.