Bentsen: No Chasing of Rainbows

CANDIDATES '76

This is the second of a series examining the declared and occasionally undeclared candidates for the presidency. The series began with Arizona Congressman Morris Udall (TIME, Aug. 25).

Everybody's second choice. That seems to be the presidential strategy of Senator Lloyd M. Bentsen, 54, who has plans of emerging as the compromise nominee after the front runners falter and the Democratic Convention is deadlocked. A multimillionaire Texas businessman who is not given to quixotic pursuits, Bentsen has tried to hug the middle of the road more closely than any other candidate. A wobble either to the left or the right makes him distinctly uneasy. "Others are trying to move toward the middle of the party," he says. "But I don't have to move. I'm already there."

Pearly Smooth. The problem with occupying the middle so snugly is that a candidate becomes, well, middling. Bentsen does little to attract or repel. Mainly, he tries to soothe with an approach that is pearly smooth and a bit soporific. "He dreams dreams but doesn't chase rainbows," was an early campaign slogan. The result is a rather colorless campaign, though one that exudes competence. Bentsen seems all but devoid of regional or personal quirks. His urbane performance gives no clues that he is a Texan. Understated and restrained, he manages to conceal much of the inner man from public view. Says a longtime associate: "Bentsen is one of the hardest people in public life to get to know." Adds Calvin Guest, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party: "The problem is to communicate his great leadership ability. Groups he has spoken to often go away without understanding what he really said."

Bentsen likes to say that he speaks without a Texas accent because his forebears came from Denmark by way of South Dakota. But his family fortune definitely speaks the language of Texas. His father, Lloyd Bentsen Sr., and his Uncle Elmer started buying land and reselling it in ways that brought accusations, though little proof, of shady business practices. From real estate, the family moved into farming, cattle raising, oil drilling, banking. Today Bentsen Sr. is worth an estimated $50 million. The candidate puts his own assets at $2.3 million, all of it currently placed in a blind trust.

Young Bentsen was a quick study and moved nimbly. At 21, he graduated from the University of Texas law school. That same year he enlisted in the Army, later flew 50 missions over Europe as a bomber pilot, and was shot down twice. While on leave, he married a Texas model, Beryl Ann; they have three children. Mustered out as a major at 24, Bentsen was elected the youngest county judge in Texas. In 1948, he ran successfully for the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the youngest member. He impressed a fellow Texan, Speaker Sam Rayburn, who included Bentsen in his after-hours bourbon-and-strategy sessions. Even so, Bentsen did not make much of a mark in the House--with the exception of a speech he now regrets. During the Korean War, he urged that atomic bombs be dropped on the North Koreans unless they withdrew from the South. "I am wiser today," says Bentsen, who claims that a member of the Truman Cabinet suggested he make the speech to try to pressure the North Koreans to negotiate.

Bentsen retired from the House in 1954 to go back home and make money. Starting with a life insurance company capitalized with family funds, he built a corporate empire including apartment buildings, shopping centers, oilfields, banks and a funeral home. Satisfied with his stake, he returned to politics at a higher level. In 1970 he challenged incumbent Senator Ralph Yarborough, a liberal folk hero. The primary contest was grimy even by Texas standards, the candidates swapping insults worthy of a saloon brawl. With the backing of Lyndon Johnson, John Connally and the Texas political-financial establishment, Bentsen scored an upset victory. That fall he defeated Republican George Bush, now chief of the U.S. liaison office in Peking.

Changed Image. When Bentsen arrived in Washington, Vice President Spiro Agnew greeted him as one of the "ideological majority" that would support the Administration. Bentsen quickly set him straight: "I'm coming here as part of the loyal opposition, not as part of the Nixon forces." He proceeded to change his image by voting with the liberals to make it easier to invoke cloture. From then on, Bentsen was tagged as "unpredictable." Filling his office with flow charts, maps and graphs, he established a reputation for probing analysis of complex issues. He took pride in exposing economic illiteracy, whether demonstrated by conservatives or liberals, admirals or environmentalists. He won coveted committee assignments: Armed Services, Finance, Public Works and the Joint Economic Committee.

In the Senate, Bentsen has concentrated on the economy. A fiscal conservative, he deplored big spending and even objected to revenue sharing as a strain on the federal budget. But during the recession, he has called for Government intervention to counter unemployment. He introduced a bill to create 840,000 summer jobs for unemployed youths and urges a revival of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the New Deal agency that put tens of thousands of young people to work on federal conservation projects around the country. To stimulate the depressed housing industry, Bentsen has proposed giving a 20% tax credit to parents who place $250 a year in savings accounts for their children's higher education. The savings institutions would then be required to use 50% of the money for housing loans.

Surprise and Chagrin. Convinced that there will soon be a critical shortage of capital, Bentsen has introduced a bill to encourage more investment. The bill provides for a scaling down of the 35% capital gains tax. The longer an asset is held, the less it would be taxed when it is sold. After 15 years, the tax would be trimmed to 14%. The bill also increases from $1,000 to $4,000 the maximum yearly write-off of capital losses.

To reach the middle of the road, Bentsen had to move away from his close identification with his home state's largest industry. To the surprise and chagrin of some of his supporters, he voted for a bill to abolish the depletion allowance for the major oil companies while retaining it for the independents, which do much of the exploratory drilling in the U.S. Bentsen has also called for the creation of a federal bank to guarantee loans to private industry for the development of alternative energy sources. To conserve energy, he has proposed a gasoline tax that starts at 5-c- per gal. and reaches 30-c- after five years.

Mainly preoccupied with domestic matters, Bentsen has demonstrated no particular aptitude for foreign affairs. Generally, he goes along with his fellow Democrats' attacks on detente and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Though a hard-liner on defense, Bentsen often raps the Pentagon for sloppy analysis and wasteful spending, asking: "Can this country afford a $17 billion-a-year civilian defense payroll that is purely for support rather than combat purposes?"

Full Portfolio. Bentsen has raised $1.5 million in campaign funds, more than any other candidate except George Wallace and Henry Jackson. He has also enlisted some impressive political support. While refraining from an outright endorsement, Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield has said that Bentsen has a full portfolio of presidential qualifications. Bentsen has been formally endorsed by Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards and by almost every important office holder in Virginia. He is expected to defeat Wallace handily in the Texas primary and to do well in other parts of the South.

But his visibility elsewhere remains close to zero. Although he has been campaigning for the presidency since the fall of 1973, he has not been able to emerge from the growing cluster of candidates. Bentsen is still so far down in the preferential polls that he is not even listed. Less than 40% of the electorate know who he is--a statistic that nevertheless gives him some comfort. "A year ago, only 3% recognized my name," he says. "I consider that progress." His chief political adviser, Benjamin Palumbo, thought that was not sufficient progress. He urged Bentsen to speed up his campaign and try to become the front runner. Bentsen seemed to vacillate for a while and then resumed his deliberate pace. Palumbo quit the campaign this month. Says a politician who knows both men: "Ben is a crapshooter, and I get the distinct impression that Lloyd doesn't want to shoot craps." The meticulous multimillionaire is obviously not ready to go for broke.

Bentsen, in fact, has begun to pay more attention to his home state. He is also running for re-election to the Senate since Texas law does not prohibit him from seeking the presidency at the same time. He chose not to attend a gathering of liberal Democratic presidential hopefuls in Minneapolis last week, the first of a series of debates to be held around the country. Nothing dramatic or flamboyant or even very incisive can be expected of Bentsen as he pursues his steady-as-she-goes campaign. He wants to demonstrate that he can manage the ship of state without unduly rocking it; he wants fellow Democrats to feel secure with him rather than excited or inspired. Then, by convention time, they may be willing to settle for their second choice.

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