Dukakis considered Gephardt for his running mate, but chose Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.

Wallace and Jackson were considered to be the two main contenders for the moderate to conservative voters to whom Bentsen would appeal ; early in the campaign few foresaw Jimmy Carter of Georgia also effectively appealing to that group.

Bentsen was on Walter Mondale's short list of seven or eight possible vice presidential candidates in 1984 and was the only southerner and one of three white males considered.

In 1988 Governor Michael Dukakis ( Massachusetts ) chose Bentsen to be his running mate in that year's presidential election, beating out Ohio Senator John Glenn, who was considered the early favorite.

After the resignation of Les Aspin in early 1994, Bentsen was seriously considered for the position of Secretary of Defense.

The Willie Horton commercials used by supporters of George H. W. Bush against Michael Dukakis in the election of 1988 were considered by many Democrats, including Jesse Jackson, Lloyd Bentsen, and many newspaper editors, to be racist.

" ( In 1988, Lloyd Bentsen, the Vice Presidential running mate of Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, and also a Senator from Texas, took advantage of " Lyndon's law ," and was able to retain his seat in the Senate despite Dukakis ' loss to George H. W. Bush.

The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position ( such as the Vice President running with a presidential candidate ) but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as " Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were running mates in 1988 ".

Bentsen did not organize effectively on a national level, and many observers believed the freshman senator was running without any real hope of winning the nomination, hoping instead to secure a vice-presidential nomination.

Because of Bentsen's status as something of an elder statesman who was more experienced in electoral politics, many believed Dukakis's selection of Bentsen as his running mate was a mistake in that Bentsen, number two on the ticket, appeared more presidential than did Dukakis.

According to a Washington Post article by Walter Pincus and Bob Woodward entitled Doing Well with Help from Family, Friends, ( August 11, 1988 ) when Bush was running against Lloyd Bentsen for senator in 1970, Kerr advised Bush on a proposed business deal involving a loan request from a man named Victor Flaherty, who needed money to buy Fidelity Printing Company.

When liberal Democrat Michael Dukakis ran for president in 1988 he chose Lloyd Bentsen, a moderate, as his running mate.

* July 20 – The Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia nominates Michael Dukakis for U. S. President and Lloyd Bentsen for Vice President.

Goliad is located on U. S. Highway 59, named also for the late U. S. Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen.

As she called for the election of Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts and then U. S. Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen of Texas as President and Vice President of the United States, Richards read a letter from an unnamed young mother in Lorena who described herself as " forgotten " by the national leadership.

* Former Senator Lloyd Bentsen visited the rodeo grounds in attempt to gain support for a 1976 presidential run.

From 1988 to 1990, McCurry served as director of communications for the Democratic National Committee, and served as press secretary for the presidential campaigns of John Glenn ( 1984 ), Bruce Babbitt ( 1988 ), and Bob Kerrey, ( 1992 ), as well as the 1988 vice-presidential campaign for Lloyd Bentsen.

Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. ( February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006 ) was a four-term United States senator ( 1971 – 1993 ) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket.

Bentsen participated in bombing raids in support of the Anzio campaign and flew bombers against hard targets in preparation for the landing in southern France.

Bentsen was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, one of the Air Force's highest commendations for achievement or heroism in flight.

In each of his three campaigns for the House, Bentsen was unopposed in the general election.

Bentsen upset incumbent Ralph Yarborough, a liberal icon, in a bruising primary campaign for the 1970 Texas Democratic Senatorial nomination.

Beginning in 1974, Bentsen campaigned for the Democratic Party's 1976 presidential nomination.

Bentsen formally announced his candidacy on February 17, 1975, and in the early part of that year he had already raised over $ 1 million for his campaign ; only George Wallace of Alabama and Henry M. " Scoop " Jackson of Washington had raised more money by that point.

By October 1975 Bentsen, generating little national attention or significance in the polls, scaled back his campaign to a limited effort in areas of 8 to 10 states, hoping for a deadlocked convention.

Bentsen provided crucial support for President Carter's arms control efforts and ratification of the Panama Canal Treaty.

When Bentsen was up for reelection in 1982, he played a significant role in electing the most liberal slate of statewide officials in living memory by leading a unified Democratic campaign and tapping his substantial campaign funds for a sophisticated get-out-the-vote effort.

Bentsen was selected in large part to secure the state of Texas and its electoral vote for the Democrats, even with fellow Texan George H. W. Bush at the top of the Republican ticket.

One elector in West Virginia even cast a ballot for him rather than Dukakis, giving Bentsen one electoral vote for President.

Bentsen was responsible for one of the most memorable moments of the campaign during his televised debate with Republican vice presidential nominee Dan Quayle.

The eventual nominee and president Carter was later quoted as saying he had expected a much stronger showing by Bentsen but that Bentsen's failure to campaign nationally had ended his hopes.

Quayle attempted to avoid the one-sided outcome of his debate with Lloyd Bentsen four years earlier by staying on the offensive.

His Democratic opponent, Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas, replies, " Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy.

Democrat Bentsen countered with the now famous statement: " Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy.

In addition to the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bentsen was awarded the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.

Two weeks later Bentsen staked the remainder of his campaign and resources in neighboring Oklahoma but finished third with only 12 %.

Bentsen retorted, " Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy.

" Peter Goldman and Tom Mathews wrote in The Quest for the Presidency 1988 that Bentsen " was the forgotten man " of the campaign until the exchange with Quayle.

Bentsen was unable to swing his home state, with 43 percent of the Texas vote going for the Dukakis ticket while Bush and Quayle took 56 percent, despite the fact that Bentsen was simultaneously re-elected to the United States Senate with 59 percent of the vote.

* Oral History Interview with Lloyd Bentsen, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library

He belonged to the conservative wing of the Texas Democratic Party associated with Connally and Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr.

Footage of McMahon is included in the 1982 documentary The Atomic Cafe giving a speech urging a reasoned response to the acquisition of atomic weapons contrasting with the more McCarthyite speeches of Republican Senators Owen Brewster, Richard Nixon and Democratic Representative Lloyd Bentsen.

Her earlier political history shows support for the Democrats during the 1980s, with recorded contributions to Democratic candidates and causes, including the Democratic National Committee, the Senate campaign of Lloyd Bentsen and the 1988 presidential campaign of Al Gore, totaling $ 3, 000.

Eventually, Cash and Landrum contacted their U. S. Senators, Lloyd Bentsen and John Tower, who suggested that the witnesses file a complaint with the Judge Advocate Claims office at Bergstrom Air Force Base.

To which, Bentsen, a Senate veteran from Texas, responded: " Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine.

From 1921 to 1926 he was responsible for the conversion of Frederiks Hospital into the Danish Museum of Art & Design together with Thorkild Henningsen and Ivar Bentsen.

Pearson collaborated with Senator Howard Cannon, D-Nevada, and others, on the former legislation and Senators Russell Long, D-Louisiana, and Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, on the latter.