Veterans Boo as Sen. Bentsen Lauds Dukakis

Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen, a decorated World War II bomber pilot, was interrupted four times by booing today when he told veterans that Michael S. Dukakis “can be trusted” to maintain the nation’s defense.

“I have been in the cross-hairs of the enemies of freedom,” the 67-year-old senator told a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention. “I have been there. And I yield to no person or party in my passion for freedom.”

Republicans, Sen. Bentsen said, “have behaved as if the flag were a partisan and not a personal virtue.”

‘Extreme Partisanship’

The Reagan Administration has relied on “extreme partisanship and overheated campaign rhetoric instead of a patient, bipartisan approach to national security issues,” he said.

“The simple truth is this: Gov. Dukakis is a veteran, a patriot, and an advocate of American strength and steadiness. He can be trusted as a defender of American security--and as a champion of American values.”

Bentsen was well received personally, receiving standing ovations when he arrived and when he left. But he was interrupted by boos four times--three times when he mentioned Dukakis and once when he referred to former President Jimmy Carter.

‘Hard to Accept’

Stopped by booing after he said that Carter had begun the defense buildup, he told the crowd, “Pretty hard for some of you to accept that.”

After the speech, Bentsen said he thought there had been some organized opposition to the speech. Republicans, he said, “were desperate to find an issue.”

Bentsen cited Dukakis’ emphasis on improving non-nuclear weapons, maintaining a nuclear deterrent, support of the stealth bomber and a new submarine-launched missile. Dukakis, he said, would manage military spending more effectively.

While praising his running mate, Bentsen blasted both Vice President George Bush and vice presidential nominee Sen. Dan Quayle for supporting cuts in veterans health care programs.