Lloyd Bentsen

Lloyd Bentsen died Tuesday, May 23, 2006, at his home in Houston. He had been in poor health and under doctor's supervision since suffering a stroke in 1999. He's shown here on Jan. 27, 2000.

Former Treasury Secretary and U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen is shown on Nov. 7, 1995. Bentsen's distinguished political career took him from the humble beginnings of a county office in the Rio Grande Valley in the 1940s to six years in the House of Representatives, 22 in the Senate and two in Bill Clinton's cabinet, where he was instrumental in directing the administration's economic policy.

Lloyd Bentsen, left, and Dan Quayle shake hands after their televised vice presidential debate in Omaha, Neb., on Oct. 5, 1988. During the debate, the Texas senator told his rival, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

Democrats Lloyd Bentsen and Michael Dukakis during their campaign for vice president and president, June 6, 1988. While Bentsen defeated Rep. George Bush for the first of four Senate terms, that would not be the case in his run for the White House. The Dukakis-Bentsen ticket went down hard, losing 40 states, including Bentsen's home state of Texas, to the George Bush-Dan Quayle team.

Lloyd Bentsen, shown in this October 1988 photo, represented Texas in Congress for 28 years and served as President Bill Clinton's first Secretary of the Treasury. Bentsen also sought the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination, but abandoned the race quickly after gaining little support.

Lloyd Bentsen, born Feb. 11, 1921, first distinguished himself in World War II, where he flew 50 bomber missions over Europe. Returning home as a decorated veteran, the 25-year-old was elected Hidalgo County, Texas, judge in 1946. Two years later, he moved to the House. In his first term, Bentsen was one of a handful of Southern congressmen who voted against the poll tax, which was used to keep blacks from voting.