In 1988 republican Vice President ial candidate dan quayle and democratic Vice President ial candidate Lloyd Bentsen debated in omaha, nebraska. A panel of four journalists asked questions of the candidate. Good evening. On behalf of the commission on president ial debates, im pleased to welcome you to this Vice President ial debate. Im Judy Woodruff of pbss Mcneil Newshour and frontline. My colleagues are John Margolis of chicago tribune, tom brokaw of nbc news and brit hume of abc news. The importance of tonights debate is underscored by two facts, both george bush and Michael Dukakis said their selections of a running mate would reveal a lot about themselves. Based on the history since world war ii, there is almost a 50 50 chance one of the two men herep to t tonight will welcome president of the United States. The candidates are senator dan quayle, the republican nominee, and senator Lloyd Bentsen, the democratic nominee. For the next 90 minutes we will be questioning the candidate