George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography - Get a Free Blog

proud of his endorsements from Gov. John Connally and the Conservative Action
Committee, a local right-wing group. One endorsement for Bush that caused Briuscoe
some difficulty was that of Bush mentor Richard M. Nixon. By 1966, Nixon was on the
comeback trail, having wihstood the virtual nervous breakdown he had undergone after
losing his bid for the governorship of California in 1962. Nixon was now in the course of
assembling the delegates that would give him the GOP presidential nomination in Miami
in 1968. Nixon came to Houston and made campaign appearances for Bush, as he had in
1964.
Bush had brought in a new group of handlers and image-mongers for this 1966 race. His
campaign manager was Jim Allison from Midland. Harry Treleaven was brought in
design Bush's propaganda.
Treleaven had been working at the J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency in New
York City, but he took a leave of absence from J. Walter to come to work for Bush in
Texas. At J. Walter Thompson, Treleaven had sold the products of Pan American, RCA,
Ford, and Lark cigarettes. He was attracted to Bush because he had plenty of money and
was willing to spend it liberally. After the campaign was over, Treleaven wrote a long
memo about what he had done. He called it "Upset: The Story of a Modern Political
Campaign." One of the basic points in Treleaven's selling of Bush was that issues would
play no role. "Most national issues today are so complicated, so difficult to understand,
and have opinions on that they either intimidate or, more often, bore the average
voter...Few politicians recognize this fact." In his memo, Treleaven describes how he
walked around Houston in the hot August of 1966 and asked people what they thought of
George Bush. He found that many considered Bush to be "an extremely likeable person,"
but that "there was a haziness about exactly where he stood politically."
For Treleaven, this was an ideal situation. "There'll be few opportunities for logical
persuasion, which is all right-- because probably more people vote for irrational,
emotional reasons than professional politicians suspect." Treleaven's approach was that
"politicians are celebrities." Treleaven put 85% of Bush's hefty campaign budget into
advertising, and 59% of that was for television. Newspaper ad got 3%. Treleaven knew
that Bush was behind in the polls. "We can turn this into an advantage," he wrote, "by
creating a 'fighting underdog ' image. Bush must convince voters that he really wants to
be elected and is working hard to earn their vote. People sympathize with a man who tries
hard: they are also flattered that anyone would really exert himself to get their vote. Bush,
therefore, must be shown as a man who's working his heart out to win."
As Joe McGinnis summed up the television ads that resulted: "Over and over, on every
television set in Houston, George Bush was seen with his coat slung over a shoulder; his
sleeves rolled up; walking the streets of his district; grinning, gripping, sweating, letting
the voter know he cared. About what, was never made clear." [fn 7]
Coached by these professional spin doctors, Bush was acting as mainstream, fair, and
conciliatory as could be. In an exchange with Briscoe in the Houston Chronicle a few
days before the election, he came out for "a man's right to join a union and his right to