CAMPAIGN ’88 : Bentsen’s Courtly Pace

Tall and stately, Bentsen is often described as “patrician” and “courtly.” So it seems only right that his vice presidential campaign has a dignified, genteel air about it. Some call it the “champagne campaign.”

Why? Bentsen keeps bankers’ hours. On Thursday, his only public appearance was at a rally in East Texas. On Friday, he spoke at a Democratic breakfast in Dallas, then flew to a rally in San Antonio. His public schedule was over at 1:30 p.m. A similar schedule is planned today.

Given that breakneck pace, reporters stroll, rather than run, for phones. They tend to review restaurants, rather than politics, aboard the campaign plane. And rightly so: Fresh raspberries were on the plane’s breakfast menu Friday.

Later, two campaign aides opened bottles of Lone Star beer and politely handed them out as reporters boarded the press bus in San Antonio. “This campaign has everything but maid service,” one scribe declared.