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Nixon gave advice to Quayle that might’ve made sense to Nixon, but really wasn’t applicable to Quayle. After Nixon “lost” the 1960 race, he immediately jumped into running for California Governor in 1962 (which was a way to keep himself prominent and viable for a future run for President, if not in 1964, 1968), which was ill-advised. Nixon had never been in CA state politics (only federal), and the GOP lost all those offices in 1958 when Sen. Bill Knowland, the GOP Senate leader, decided to strongly coerce Gov. Goodwin Knight to switch jobs with him (as Knowland thought the CA Governorship would also be the easier path to the White House). Nixon pursued that folly (but had to get past a bitter primary with the GOP Assembly Leader Joe Shell, who was a strong Conservative and better versed on how to take on and take out Gov. Pat Brown).

Nixon and Quayle obviously discussed the latter running for Governor of Indiana in 1996 (again, to demonstrate his ability and viability for the Presidency). Nixon urged him NOT to run for Governor and to build another base of support in the southwest (AZ). But Quayle was popular in Indiana and he could’ve had the Governorship had he decided on it (unless Mayor Goldsmith decided to run a strong primary challenge, and he likely would not have wanted to serve as second banana to Quayle given his office — he had already done so in 1988 running on a losing ticket to Bayh/O’Bannon). By not getting bogged down in parochial state politics and staying focused on the Presidency was Nixon’s advice (as Nixon probably would have chosen, in hindsight, NOT to have run for CA Governor in 1962, as it only left him embittered. That was when he expected it was his swan song, when he barked at the media, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore !”

Quayle could’ve at least halted 8 more years of Dem control of their Governorship and perhaps stopped Evan Bayh going to the Senate (running his wife would’ve been a stroke of genius). If you’ll recall, the media hated Marilyn Quayle because she was a Conservative (far less media hatred for liberal Barbara Bush, although liberal Nancy Reagan was skewered).