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143 My work for Hubert Humphrey in 1968 and at the Democratic National Committee in 1969 brought me in contact with Bob Strauss, but the relationship was casual. He was the Democratic national committeeman from Texas. Bob’s counterpart as committeewoman was the gracious B. ฀. Bentsen of Houston, whom I will have more to say about later. Both represented the Johnson-Connally wing of the party, but because of their tireless efforts on behalf of Humphrey in 1968, I knew they weren’t mossbacks . In fact, Bob Strauss helped engineer a massive last-minute rally at the Houston ฀strodome that was televised statewide. President Johnson and Mrs. Johnson showed up, John and Nellie Connally attended, and Frank Sinatra entertained. The rally electrified the troops and Texas fell into the Democratic column. So my first image of Bob was that of a can-do, national Democrat in a state where those types were getting harder to find. My experience with Bob and the DNC over the course of 1969 mirrored the party as a whole. Losing is never easy, particularly to a despised figure like Richard Nixon: the often brilliant but deeply flawed human was the epitome of the political evil enemy . The party was deep in debt and divided. Meetings were rancorous. Debates were mean-spirited and accusatory: northern liberals against southern conservatives, with every variation in between, topped off by fear of, and intimidation by, George Wallace. Unfortunately, Hubert Humphrey’s selection of Senator Fred Harris of Oklahoma to be chairman of the DNC only added to the problem. But as I observed the meetings and comings and goings, Bob Strauss was always in there trying to find middle ground with common sense and high humor. There were the joyous moments. On January 24, 1969, Mark Lambert Bristol came into the world. ฀t the time Valarie and I didn’t have a car, so when she went into The Democratic National Committee and Bob Strauss CHAPTER 11 A POLITICAL MASTER’S DEGREE 144 labor I called our dear friend Jim Shiver. He was one of those good neighbors, romanticized but seldom real. If he could, he would always go the extra mile. I asked him if he could swing by and pick us up. He said that he was walking out the door and would be there shortly. I forgot to tell him that Valarie was in labor. When he got there, she got in the back seat, so Jim still didn’t have a clue. “Where to?” “The hospital,” I said. “Good Lord!,” said he, and off we shot—the wrong way onto Rock Creek Parkway. Fortunately we righted ourselves and made it to the hospital. But heading the wrong way was the least of our problems that day. Our doctor was drunk. I fired him in the hallway and asked an intern and a nurse to fill in. ฀ll went well, but the doctor sent a bill. I wrote him a nasty letter and paid him one dollar a month for several years. When we were leaving Washington , I asked Strauss what to do with the remaining debt. He said, “Send the SOB one more dollar. Tell him you’re moving to Texas and if he wants to sue you, he’ll have to come to Dallas and that the Strauss firm will defend you pro bono with glee.” I did what he told me and we never heard another word from the doctor. Because of my work in the South, I continued to keep in contact with all the party leaders: governors, senators, House members and others. What I found were many fine people who deeply cared about the nation and the party. I had come to know some in 1968, but during 1969 I came to know them well. ฀ great deal of that knowledge stemmed from the fact that there was little to do but discuss the current situation, and for me mostly to listen. Early on, most southern Democratic leaders came to disagree with Senator Harris. It was apparent to them that he was tied to the liberal wing of the party and had his own presidential agenda. Fred Harris could be brilliant and funny, but he could also be preachy. That did not sit well with governors and other elected of- ficials who were trying desperately to hold the party together in their states. Most were also loyal national Democrats who held strong beliefs on the role of government, national and state...

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