Video: 'Lloyd Bentsen Nomination Acceptance Speech (1988)'

(Thursday, July 21, 1988, scheduled for 9:26 p.m. EDT; during the 1988 Democratic National Convention) — Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas accepted the Democratic vice presidential nomination tonight at The Omni in Atlanta, saying the Reagan administration had achieved an illusory prosperity by writing “hot checks for $200 billion a year.”

Earlier in the evening, Bentsen was nominated on the ticket with Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts by voice vote, rather than a roll call.

Dukakis would accept the Democratic presidential nomination later in the evening.