Agnew went through the follwing contortion: a vote for Bentsen, Agnew told audiences
in Lubbock and Amarillo, "is a vote to keep William Fulbright chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee," and that was not what "Texans want at all." Agnew tried
to put Bentsen in the same boat with "radical liberals" like Yarborough, Fulbright,
McGovern, and Kennedy. Bentsen invited Agnew to move on to Arkansas and fight it out
with Fulbright, and that was that.
Could Nixon himself help Bush? Nixon did campaign in the state. Bentsen then told a
group of "Anglo-American" businessmen: Texans want "a man who can stand alone
without being propped up by the White House."
In the end Bentsen defeated Bush by a vote of 1,197,726 to Bush's 1,035,794, about 53%
to 47%. The official Bushman explanation was that there were two proposed amendments
to the Texas constitution on the ballot, one to allow saloons, and one to allow all
undeveloped land to be taxed at the same rate as farmland. According to Bushman
apologetics, these two propositions attracted so much interest among "yellow dog" rural
conservatives that 300,000 extra voters came out, and this gave Bentsen his critical
margin of victory. There was also speculation that Nixon and Agnew had attracted so
much attention that more voters had come out, but many of these were Bentsen
supporters. On the night of the election, Bush said that he "felt like General Custer. They
asked him why he had lost and he said "There were too many Indians.' All I can say at
this point is that there were too many Democrats," said the fresh two-time loser. Bentsen
suggested that it was time for Bush to be appointed to a high position in the government.
[fn 34]
Bush's other consolation was a telgram dated November 5, 1970:
FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE I KNOW THE DISAPPOINTMENT THAT YOU AND
YOUR FAMILY MUST FEEL AT THIS TIME. I AM SURE, HOWEVER, THAT YOU WILL
NOT ALLOW THIS DEFEAT TO DISCOURAGE YOU IN YOUR EFFORTS TO CONTINUE
TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP FOR OUR PARTY AND THE NATION.RICHARD NIXONThis was Nixon's euphemistic way of reassuring Bush that they still had a deal. [fn 35]
NOTES:
- See Fitzhugh Green, George Bush, p. 92, and Bush and Gold, Looking Forward, p. 90.
- Stevens' remarks were part of a Public Broadcasting System "Frontline" documentary program entitled
"Campaign: The Choice," of November 24, 1988. Cited by Fitzhugh Green, p. 91. - For the chronicles of the Harris County GOP, see local press articles available on microfiche at the Texas
Historical Society in Houston. - "George Bush vs. Observer Editor," The Texas Observer, July 23, 1965.