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Lloyd Bentsen

Lloyd Bentsen
Born
February 11, 1921
Mission, Texas
Died
May 23, 2006
Houston, Texas

Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr., (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was a four-term United States senator (1971 until 1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988. He also served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1948 to 1955 and as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and as U.S. Treasury Secretary.

Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy
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(Redirected from Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy)

"Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy." was a famous statement made by Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican vice-presidential candidate Senator J. Danforth Quayle during the 1988 vice-presidential debate. Jack Kennedy was a reference to John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. Since then the words "No Jack Kennedy" have become a part of the political lexicon as a way to insult a politician or other individual who thinks too highly of himself.

The full quote is as follows:


Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy.

Lloyd Bentsen, Ex-Treasury Secretary, Senator Dies (Update3)
May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Lloyd Bentsen, the former Texas senator and Treasury secretary who uttered one of the most memorable putdowns in American politics when he told Dan Quayle, ``Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy,'' has died. He was 85.

Bentsen died this morning at his home in Houston, said Joe O'Neill, his former chief of staff. He had been in ill health since suffering a stroke in 1998.

``Lloyd Bentsen was a man of great honor and distinction,'' President George W. Bush said in a statement from the White House. In Congress, Bentsen ``was known for his integrity and for seeking bipartisan solutions to issues facing our nation,'' said Bush, whose father lost a Senate race to Bentsen in 1970.

Bentsen was praised on the Senate floor today by Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who called him ``a guiding light.'' Texas Governor Rick Perry ordered flags at state buildings to be flown at half-staff for five days in memory of Bentsen, ``a war hero and true Texas leader who earned the respect of the nation.''

While Bentsen had presidential ambitions, it was as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 1988 that he dismissed Republican rival Quayle's comparison of his own Senate experience with that of former Democratic President John F. Kennedy. ``Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy,'' Bentsen responded. ``I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy.''

Bentsen and fellow Democrat Michael Dukakis lost the election to George H.W. Bush and Quayle.http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...&refer=us#

[davesimondotcom]

"Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy."

Along with Reagan's answer to the question of his age when it came to serving as President, when he promised not to "exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience."

Of course, I also think that Bentson's comment was one of the most mean-spirited and uncalled for interruptions in political debates. Quayle was, after all, not comparing himself in any way other than age and political experience to JFK.

Bentson, however, was a distinguished man who served his country in war and for many years in the Senate. He led a life much bigger than that one particular catch phrase.

[chris v]

Bentsen was definitely one of the giants of Texas politics. A whole great generation is about gone, now. Bentsen, Barbara Jordan, Bob Bullock, all larger than life. He will be missed.

And yeah, next to Churchill's "...but tomorrow I shall be sober," he delivered one of the 20th century's great smackdowns. (I remember how his eyes lit up, and he straightened up a little as Quayle made his hapless JFK comparison -- you could tell Bentsen was thinking "Oh, boy, I get to use THE LINE!"

Heh. Godspeed, good man.