Facts about Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen Biography
Lloyd Bentsen represented Texas in Congress for 28 years but is best known for a line he got off in a nationally televised vice-presidential debate on 5 October 1988. When youthful Republican opponent Dan Quayle said, “I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency,” Lloyd Bentsen replied, “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” Democrats Lloyd Bentsen and Michael Dukakis were defeated soundly by Quayle and George Bush that fall, but Lloyd Bentsen finished his career with one more partial term in the Senate and two years as Bill Clinton‘s first treasury secretary (1992-1994). His 2006 death was attributed to complications of two strokes he had suffered in 1998.
Extra credit
Lloyd Bentsen ran for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 1976 but dropped out in the spring… Lloyd Bentsen defeated George Bush in the 1970 Texas election for U.S. Senate… Lloyd Bentsen was 25 when first elected to office as a judge in Hidalgo County, Texas… As an Army Air Force pilot in World War II, Lloyd Bentsen flew 50 bomber missions over Europe and was shot down twice… Lloyd Bentsen married Beryl Ann Longino in 1943. They had two sons, Lloyd III and Lan, and a daughter, Tina.