US: A former US senator and treasury secretary, Lloyd Bentsen, a courtly Texan who as the Democrats' vice-presidential nominee in 1988 famously told rival Dan Quayle he was "no Jack Kennedy", died yesterday. He was 85.
Bentsen, who represented the state in Congress for 28 years, died at his Houston home. He had been under a doctor's care since a stroke several years ago.
Bentsen's distinguished political career took him from the humble beginnings of a county office in the Rio Grande Valley in the 1940s to six years in the US House, 22 in the Senate and two as President Clinton's first treasury secretary, when he was instrumental in directing the administration's economic policy.
National ambitions led him to seek the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination, a race he quickly abandoned after gaining little support. Returning his attention to the Senate, Bentsen cemented his expertise in tax, trade and economic issues as well as foreign affairs.
By 1988, Bentsen was one of the Senate's most respected voices. That year, Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis picked the elder statesman as his running mate.
As the Republican nominee, the vice-president, George W. Bush, chose Mr Quayle, a second-term Indiana senator and former congressman, as his running mate.
In the televised vice-presidential debate, Mr Quayle said: "I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency."
Bentsen's retort caused a sensation. "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy," he said. "I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
But the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket went down hard, losing in 40 states.