Former vice president Dan Quayle pulled out of the White House race Monday, complaining that the deck was stacked against him by the new election schedule and one competitor's massive warchest.

"There's a time to stay and a time to fold. There's a time to know when to leave the stage," Quayle said in a televised announcement from Arizona.

"I will no longer be a candidate for president of the United States."

Texas Governor George W. Bush has a vast lead in the crowded field of Republicans seeking to replace President Bill Clinton, and Quayle has complained frequently about his virtual "coronation."

He sounded that theme again Monday, noting that Bush will have an unprecedented 100 million dollars to spend in the campaign and that victory "became a very difficult proposition" for his own cash-strapped bid.

Quayle also said the shortened primary season at the beginning of 2000, when there will be 18 primaries within 30 days, also put him at an extreme disadvantage against Bush.

Quayle, who served under Bush's father from 1989-93, has suffered from a poor showing in a test vote in the key state of Iowa last month and has picked up few endorsements and campaign funds.

The 52-year-old has also been the frequent butt of jokes for his gaffes, most notably when he coached a spelling bee contestant to add an "E" at the end of potato.

Vowing to continue the fight for his conservative ideals, Quayle took a swipe at Clinton's sex scandal, insisting "it is time that we restore honor dignity and decency to the Oval Office."

He did not endorse any of the other Republican challengers but vowed to support the Republican nominee.

Former Vice President Dan Quayle is set to drop out of the race for the presidential nomination of the Republican Party for the 2000 elections.

The Washington Post reported that Quayle, 52, will make the announcement in Phoenix in a Monday morning news conference.

Quayle, who finished eighth in the recent Iowa straw poll, was well behind GOP frontrunner Texas Gov. George W. Bush in both fund-raising and the polls.

Quayle has tried to position himself as a candidate in touch with the conservative values of the nation, particularly on economic and social issues.

The newspaper said Quayle and his wife, Marilyn, decided over the weekend that the former vice president was not making up enough ground in New Hampshire, which will stage the first president primary next year, and that he would not be overcome the substantial advantage in funding enjoyed by Bush and the self-financed Steve Forbes.

The Post quoted a campaign aide who said, ``Dan has always promised his supporters he would not ask them to continue to help him if he had no realistic prospect of winning the nomination.''

Quayle, then a 41-year-old U.S. Senator from Indiana, was a surprise selection by then-Vice President George Bush when the elder Bush ran for president in 1988. Quayle quickly became the object of jokes after a series of verbal gaffes. His run for the 2000 GOP nomination was an attempt at a political rehabilitation, as Quayle sought to be taken seriously, but he failed to shake the reputation as the butt of so many jokes.

His departure from the race leaves eight people in the running for the Republican nomination. In addition to Bush, the Texas governor; and Forbes; there are Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; former Red Cross president Elizabeth Dole; Family Research Council leader Gary Bauer; Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; radio talk show host Alan Keyes; and television commentator Pat Buchanan.

Buchanan has hinted broadly that he is considering leaving the Republican Party to seek the nomination of the Reform Party. Sen. Robert Smith, I-N.H., left the party earlier this year and is looking for a third party to run with. Former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander dropped out after the Iowa straw poll.

Campaign officials said Sunday night that Quayle planned to drop out of the race today during a Phoenix, Ariz., news conference.

They called Quayle the latest victim of George W. Bush's GOP juggernaut.

Quayle's departure winnows the GOP field to eight major Republican candidates, and will increase speculation about the finance and political health of the remaining contenders. There is already turbulence within the nomination race.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has made inroads against Bush in New Hampshire, formally kicked off his campaign today.

Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan is on the brink of bolting the GOP to seek the Reform Party nomination.

Elizabeth Dole, who traveled the world when she headed the American Red Cross, was planning a speech today to outline her foreign policy views.

Millionaire Steve Forbes and activist Gary Bauer, meanwhile, have been positioning themselves as the only true conservatives in the race. They are most likely to pick up Quayle supporters.

Quayle's advisers said the former vice president decided to quit this weekend after consulting with his wife, Marilyn, and campaign manager Kyle McSlarrow.

The braintrust determined that Quayle could not raise enough money to compete deep into the primary season, even if he fared well in New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation primary state. Bush, a two-term Texas governor and GOP front-runner, has topped $50 million -- five times that of his nearest challenger.

In Texas, Bush said he wished Quayle well. ``I know it's a tough decision for him to make,'' he said. ``I think any time you have your heart set on a race and it doesn't go well, it's got to be a tough call.''

Quayle, 52, has been running a debt since early in the campaign.

``I think the reality just hit home that this wasn't to be,'' said former Sen. Dan Coats, a fellow Indiana Republican and Quayle supporter.

``Even if he won in New Hampshire, where to you go from there?'' asked Coats. ``You don't have the funds ... and you're up against a candidate who can outspend you 100-to-1 if he wants to.''

Reality was harsh for the resilient conservative.

Seeking office for the first time since he and President Bush were beaten by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in 1992, the former Indiana senator sought to push beyond a history of political gaffes and controversies.

One of the biggest obstacles that faced Quayle was what one supporter labeled the ``potato factor'' -- a reference to the day the then-vice president misspelled the word in a classroom full of school children. That and other miscues turned Quayle into a punch line for countless jokes, cementing for many American the perception that Quayle was ill-suited for the top job.

Stuck with the image, Quayle tried to turn it to his advantage, telling conservative voters that the controversies proved his willingness to fight the media and liberal elite to protect values.

``The question in life is not whether you get knocked down. You will. The question is, are you ready to get back up, are you willing to get back up and fight for what you believe in?'' Quayle said during his April announcement speech.

Already Rep. John Kasich of Ohio, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander and Sen. Bob Smith of New Hampshire have dropped out of the GOP primary contest.

Kasich endorsed Bush. Alexander, like Quayle, cited Bush's fund-raising prowess as a reason for leaving. Smith is considering a third-party bid.

The former vice president is not expected to endorse a candidacy today.

Quayle's announcement comes as the remaining campaigns prepare to file their October finance statements, which will disclose how well or poorly their fund-raising operations are doing. Quayle is not the only Republican candidate having a hard time competing with Bush.

Dole is aggressively trying to raise money to compete against Bush. Her situation may be even more precarious, given the fact that she is courting the same moderate and establishment Republicans as Bush.

Aides said Quayle has no regrets about his campaign and leaves buoyed by a recent national poll that showed him with 9 percent of the vote -- a distant second to Bush.

He has been unable to break out of the second-tier of candidates in key states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, however. Also in those ranks are radio host Alan Keyes and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

Quayle's campaign has been on the ropes since Aug. 14, when he finished near the back of the pack in Iowa's nonbinding straw poll. He is still convinced he could fare well -- even win -- the New Hampshire primary. Despite that, the concentrated primary calendar would give him little time to raise enough money to capitalize on a success.

During his campaign, Quayle pitched a 30 percent across-the-board tax cut, billing it as a boon to middle-income families. He also portrayed himself as the best qualified potential commander-in-chief, recalling his participation in White House war councils.