European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Is George Bush a real texan by Peter Applebome new York times n his autobiography. Looking Forward George Bush recalls one of the Trust rations o his first so Alewife political race in Texas. The hardest Campaign lesson of All to wrote of his unsuccessful race against sen Ralph Yarborough in 1964, was finding out i was t a texan at least not by my opponent s definition according to Yarborough i was a Carpo Bagger who d come Down from  now. 24 years later. The Issue still lives. With sen. Lloyd Bentsen on is democratic ticket Texas is one of the key battlegrounds in the presidential race. Despite his Connecticut upbringing Maine Retreat Yale education and prep school locutions Bush has deep and lasting political and business tics to Texas. He succeeded in the Oil business in Texas helped build the slate s Republican parly and served the stale in Congress. He declares a Houston hotel suite As his Legal residence. But in what seems to be an extremely tight race in the stale the persistence of the Issue partly reflects a lading Type of Texas chauvinism end partly a democratic Campaign Gambil. To political analysts like Stephen u. Klineberg who is a Rice University sociologist however the Issue of Bush s Home also strikes a nerve Teboul he vice president s ability to define himself to the Public titty. It s like id problem Gary Harl had about changing his Namo the footing who is to really " Klineberg said. There s the feeling Hal to Sorl of floats he does t have a solid identity. It s a problem for him because it tils Inlo the questions people already  democrats spent much of i heir convention in Atlanta last month poking Tun at Bush s Texas credentials. There was Iho Gibo by the keynote speaker Texas treasurer Ann Richards thai she wanted him to hear what a real Texas accent sounds like. There was the Roll Call proclamation of Texas As the Home of 16 million hard working people and of one Louril from Kennebunkport  earlier in Trie year to make Light of Bush s saying Texas is his Home Texas democratic parly officials rented the same three room hotel suite that he declares As his residence. The Bush Campaign has since rented Iho suite at the houstonian hotel and conference Center through the rest of the Campaign republicans say that the jokes have a hollow ring and that voters will care More about Bush s conservative views than where he was born. I think the fact that All they can talk about is whether George Bush is a texan or not shows they Don t have any substantive issues to talk Aboul said George so race. The Texas Republican parly chairman. No Man can help where his mama was when he was born. It to had thai As a criterion hardly anyone fighting at the Alamo would be a texan in tact Texas has always defined i Solf As a place thai ally acted newcomers looking for Opportunity. That is precisely what brought Bush in 1948 to head South in his red 1047 Studebaker Lor a Job in the West Texas Oil Fields. After he graduated from College. Bush Learned the business trom the ground up in Midland and Odessa then formed an Oil drilling partnership in 1950. In 1953, he was a founder of another concern Zapala Petroleum and later with Iho formation of the Zapala of Shore co., became an Early player in major offshore Oil production. Friends from his West Texas Days say Bush s Eastern background did not of acct his standing among oilmen. We did t judge a Guy geographically or by  said Fred Chambers now a Houston oilman whose Friendship with Bush dates to Midland in the 1950s, we were All doing the same thing. You were competing with your friends. There was a feeling of  from Midland Bush moved Loh Aushin. And his activity broadened from Oil to politics. Al Iho time the Republican party in Texas barely existed and Tho two main political options were the lib Jal and conservative wings of the democratic party. Bush s first foray into politics came in 1s62 in a race for Harris county Republican parly chairman in Houston. He ran As something of a moderate Al a Lime when members of the John Birch society were trying to get control of the county party. He won thai race but lost so Aleido Senate races in 1964 against Yarborough and in 1070 against Bentsen. In Hal period he became one of the toy people in the development of the Republican parly in Texas recruiting candidates and building organizations to provide an alternative to one party Texas. George interested a lot of people in the parly said Molly Pryor a longtime Houston Republican. He made joining Tho party an acceptable credible thing to do. People rallied around him for George the party has been a Way  he has served in government jobs outside Texas since 1970, but with the Oil and political activities he has built a network of friends and supporters around the state irom West Texas where he started out to Houston whore he entered politics to Dallas which became the slate s Republican stronghold. Bush s lies to the stale Are also reflected in his presidential Campaign. It is headed by former Treasury Sears Loiry James a. Baker if a longtime Houston in and. Sen Phil Gramm of Texas placed Bush s name in nomination at the convention last week and one of the seconding speeches was by a Houston restaurateur Ninta . And it was his son George who read the Roll Call vote of the Texas delegation Hal formally gave him he nomination wednesday. Sir in to Texas presidential contest gush is going after a state where he has won Only one statewide race Tho minimally contested primary this year in addition to his two Senate losses a lost the stale s 1960 Republican primary to Ronald Reagan. Democrats note that his presence in the Reagan administration did not produce much thai helped the Oil Industry in one of its worst slumps. And the real texan Issue is Sheie. A recent poll of 837 registered voters in Texas by Mason Dixon opinion research found thai 51 percent did not consider Bush a real texan 39 percent did and 10 percent were undecided. The poll has a margin of sampling error of three percentage Points. Bui do the real texan doubts Mailer Richard Murray a political scientist at the University of Houston said his sense was that the Issue would not matter in Urban areas but might in Rural ones like East Texas. That Region is shaping Upas a Pivotal part of the contest transformed by the presence of Boylson who comes from one of the Best known families in Texas. This is an election whore Tho issues Are terribly muddled where there s no great gripping Issue he said. In that kind of election personality characteristics and Hose kinds of issues become More  of ton to Daf Barbara Bush Watchet bar husband show to shirt celebrating his Texas Victory in super tuesday primaries. Sunday september 11, 1988 the. Stars and stripes Page 17