Bentsen, Quoting Springsteen, Makes Final Plea for Texas Vote

Sen. Lloyd Bentsen wound up his vice presidential campaign Monday using a rallying cry from an unlikely muse--rocker Bruce Springsteen--whose lyrics vow: “No retreat, baby. No surrender.”

Bentsen spent the final day of the 1988 campaign in a hectic--but probably futile--drive to win his home state for Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.

Although one independent poll showed the Democratic ticket running 17 points behind, Bentsen argued that Dukakis could win Texas’ 29 electoral votes and the national election through the sheer force of its organization. Bentsen insisted that the election would go to the side most effective at getting its voters to the polls.

Three Largest Cities

Bentsen campaigned in the state’s three largest cities--Houston, Dallas and San Antonio--and in Beaumont in East Texas, an area where it is critical for the party to win back the conservatives who voted for Ronald Reagan.

Bentsen also stopped at Shreveport, La., where television broadcasts reach into East Texas. Bentsen then was scheduled to travel to Little Rock, Ark., and Kansas City.

“My adrenaline is up. I’m excited. We’re going to go all the way until 2:30 in the morning,” Bentsen said. The length of his schedule was exceeded, however, by that of his running mate. Dukakis planned to campaign around the clock.

Adds Local Touch

In Texas, Bentsen echoed Dukakis’ “on your side” theme, but added a local spin.

He accused Vice President George Bush, who also claims Texas as his home, of having been part of an Administration that “turned their back on Texas and the energy states.” Texas is only beginning to struggle back from a severe depression that was driven by plummeting oil prices.

“My friends, when it comes to an energy policy, we’re on your side,” Bentsen proclaimed at Houston City Hall. Bentsen frequently invoked memories of Presidents Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy--both of whom, he noted, had been running behind in the polls only a few days before they were elected.

Cites Truman Reply

He recalled that when Truman’s supporters rallied with the cry, “Give ‘em hell, Harry,” Truman replied: “I don’t give them hell. I just tell the truth and the Republicans think it’s hell.”

“Does it make a difference who gets elected?” Bentsen asked several hundred supporters here. “You bet it does.”

The 67-year-old senator got his biggest cheers, however, when he quoted a song that was played at his rallies on Monday.

“Remember Bruce Springsteen’s song?” he asked. “He said these words: ‘We made a promise. No retreat, baby. No surrender.”