Bentsen's legend spread beyond the Valley

His family name adorns a road, a school, a federal court building and a state park in the Rio Grande Valley.

But Lloyd Bentsen Jr.'s legacy as a legend stretches far beyond his roots.

Born in Mission in 1921, Bentsen was the grandson of one of the Valley's most powerful agricultural families, but he far transcended his family's achievements by the time he died as a distinguished statesman 85 years later.

Bentsen was a distinguished bomber pilot during World War II and was elected an Hidalgo County judge at the age of 25.

That foray in politics precluded his successful local law firm and a successful career as a businessman through the late 1940s to the 1960s.

He re-entered the political arena in 1970, when he triumphed over incumbent U.S. Sen. Ralph Yarborough in that year's Democratic primary. Bentsen handily defeated George H.W. Bush in the general election - 18 years before he lost the vice presidency to Bush's nominee.

Bentsen served in the U.S. Senate for the next 23 years. He garnered a reputation as a fiscal conservative who was progressive on social issues.

The senator rose to chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, where he pushed to cut government spending and raise revenue, countering President Ronald Reagan's ambitions to cut taxes.

That experience led him to serve as President Bill Clinton's first treasury secretary in 1993, when the president signed the North America Free Trade Agreement.

That treaty triggered the growth that changed the Valley in the past 15 years.

Bentsen retired from Clinton's Cabinet in December 1994. In 1999, Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the nation's highest civilian honor.

Bentsen's political aspirations did not stop at the Senate, as he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976, losing to then-Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, who would win that election and go on to claim the presidency.

In the 1988 presidential election, Bentsen was Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis' pick for vice president, but the duo came up short against the Republican ticket of then Vice President George H.W. Bush and his running mate, Dan Quayle.

Still, Bentsen landed one of the most memorable jabs from that election season, when opponent Quayle boasted he had the same experience John F. Kennedy had when running for president.

"Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy, Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine," Bentsen told Quayle during a debate. "Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy."

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.