Bob Dole

At 98 years old, Bob Dole has this physical status:

Robert Joseph Dole (born July 22, 1923) is a retired American politician, statesman, and attorney who represented Kansas in the U.S House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969 and in the U.S. Senate from 1969 to 1996, serving as the Republican Leader of the United States Senate from 1985 until 1996.

He was the Republican presidential nominee in the 1996 presidential election and the party's vice presidential nominee in the 1976 presidential election. Born in Russell, Kansas, Dole established a legal career in Russell after serving with distinction in the United States Army during World War II. After a stint as Russell County Attorney, he won election to the House of Representatives in 1960.

In 1968, Dole was elected to the Senate, where he served as Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1971 to 1973 and Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1981 to 1985.

He led the Senate Republicans from 1985 to his resignation in 1996, and served as Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and from 1995 to 1996.

In his role as Republican leader, he helped defeat President Bill Clinton's health care plan. President Gerald Ford chose Dole as his running mate in the 1976 election after Vice President Nelson Rockefeller withdrew from seeking a full term.

Ford was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter in the general election.

Early life and education

Dole was born on July 22, 1923, in Russell, Kansas, the son of Bina M. (née Talbott; 1904–1983) and Doran Ray Dole (1901–1975). His father, who had moved the family to Russell shortly before Robert was born, earned money by running a small creamery. One of Dole's father's customers was the father of his future Senate colleague Arlen Specter. The Doles lived in a house at 1035 North Maple in Russell and it remained his official residence throughout his political career.

Dole graduated from Russell High School in the spring of 1941 and enrolled at the University of Kansas the following fall. Dole had been a star high school athlete in Russell, and Kansas basketball coach Phog Allen traveled to Russell to recruit him to play for the Jayhawks basketball team. While at KU, Dole was on the basketball team, the track team, and the football team. In football, Dole played at the end position. In 1942 he was a teammate of the founder and longtime owner of the Tennessee Titans Bud Adams, Adams's only season playing football at Kansas. While in college, Dole joined the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and in 1970 he was bestowed with the Fraternity's "Man of the Year" honor. Dole's collegiate studies were interrupted by World War II, when he enlisted in the United States Army.

Dole attended the University of Arizona in Tucson from 1948 to 1949, before transferring to Washburn University in Topeka, where he graduated with both undergraduate and law degrees in 1952.

Personal life

Dole married Phyllis Holden, an occupational therapist at a veterans hospital, in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1948, three months after they met. Their daughter, Robin, was born on October 15, 1954. Dole and Holden divorced January 11, 1972. Holden died on April 22, 2008.

Dole met his second wife, Elizabeth Halford, in 1972. The couple was married on December 6, 1975. They had no children.

Dole was a Freemason and a member of Russell Lodge No. 177, Russell, Kansas. In 1975, Dole was elevated to the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite.

Dole often referred to himself in the third person in conversation. In a 1996 appearance on Saturday Night Live, he jokingly refuted the habit to Norm Macdonald, saying: "That's not something Bob Dole does. That's not something Bob Dole has ever done, or that Bob Dole will ever do." He had no relation to the Dole Food Company or its namesake James Dole, although confusion between the two did lead Burhanettin Ozfatura, the mayor of İzmir, Turkey, to ban the sale of Dole bananas in the city in February 1995.

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Early political career

Dole ran for office for the first time in 1950, and was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives, where he served a two-year term. During his term, he served on the following committees: Assessment and Taxation, Gas and Oil, and Military Affairs and Soldiers Compensation. In 1952, he became Russell County's County Attorney. Dole was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Kansas's 6th congressional district in 1960. Kansas lost a congressional district during his first term, and the majority of Dole's district was merged with the neighboring 2nd district to create a new 1st district, encompassing a large area of central and western Kansas. Dole was elected from this merged district in 1962 and twice more.

During his time in the House, Dole voted in favour of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, as well as the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Post-political career

Despite losing in part, the 1996 presidential election gave Dole a variety of opportunities, owing in large part to his sense of humor. He worked in writing, consultancy, public speaking, and television appearances. Dole was the first defeated presidential candidate to become a political celebrity.

Dole appeared on Late Show with David Letterman and also appeared on Saturday Night Live in parodying himself (shortly after losing the presidential race). In January 1997, he appeared on NBC's Brooke Shields sitcom Suddenly Susan.

Dole has been a television commercial spokesman for Viagra, Visa, Dunkin' Donuts, and Pepsi-Cola (with Britney Spears). He was an occasional political commentator on Larry King Live, and he appeared on Comedy Central's satirical news show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Dole was, for a short time in 2003, a commentator opposite Bill Clinton on CBS's 60 Minutes.

Dole left Washington, D.C., where he worked with Verner, Lipfert, Bernhard, McPherson, and Hand, where he was a registered lobbyist for foreign governments (including those of Kosovo, Taiwan, and Slovenia); the American Society of Anesthesiologists; and the Chocolate Industry Coalition. Dole joined Washington, D.C. law and lobbying firm Alston & Bird LLP, where he continued his lobbying work in 2003. Verner, Liipfert was acquired by Piper Rudnick in 2003. Dole, who was employed by Alston & Bird, was licensed as a foreign agent in order to represent the government of Taiwan in Washington.

Dole was President of the Federal City Council, a coalition of industry, civic, and other interested in Washington, D.C., from 1998 to 2002.

Dole was also involved in numerous volunteer positions. He served as national chairman of the World War II Memorial Fund, which raised funds for the construction of the National World War II Memorial. After the memorial was constructed, he returned to visit visitors and remember those who served.

In 2001, Dole partnered with his former political rival, Bill Clinton, to fund the College educations for the families of 9/11 victims. It raised more than $100,000.

The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, which is located on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas, was established to bring bipartisanship back to politics. The institute, which opened in July 2003 to coincide with Dole's 80th birthday, has included such notable speakers as former President Bill Clinton and Rudy Giuliani for his service as the Mayor of New York City during the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Both in the United States and around the world, Dole's legacy includes a dedication to combating hunger. Dole created an international school lunch program through the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which is largely funded by the Congress, in addition to numerous domestic programs and former Senator George McGovern (D-South Dakota). In the first eight years, this globally recognized initiative would continue to provide more than 22 million meals to children in 41 countries. It has since raised global interest in and support for school-feeding schemes, which benefit girls and young women in particular, and has also won the 2008 World Food Prize in McGovern and Dole.

On September 18, 2004, Dole delivered the inaugural lecture to dedicate the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. He chronicled his life as a public servant and discussed the importance of public service contributions to defense, civil rights, and everyday life throughout the lecture. Dole also spoke at Central Connecticut State University in 2008 as the Vance Distinguished Lecturer.

Dole wrote several books, one of which dealt with jokes told by the presidents of the United States in which he ranked the presidents based on their level of humor. On April 12, 2005, Dole's autobiography, One Soldier's Tale: A Memoir, was published. The book chronicles his World War II experiences and his struggle to recover from war injury.

Dole and Donna Shalala, the former Secretary of Health and Human Services, were co-chairs of the commission in 2007. Dole joined former Senate majority leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, and George Mitchell to create the Bipartisan Policy Center, a non-profit think-tank that works to develop bipartisan policies.

Dole served as a director for the Asia Universal Bank, a bank headquartered in Kyrgyzstan during the discredited Kurmanbek Bakiyev presidential period, which was later discontinued due to its involvement in money laundering.

On January 26, 2012, Dole issued a letter critical of Newt Gingrich, focusing on Dole and Gingrich's time on Capitol Hill together. The letter was sent immediately prior to the Florida primary. Dole endorsed Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination.

Dole cited the relationship built between himself and Gingrich as fellow Congressional leaders in Democratic campaigns as a key factor in his 1996 presidential flop.

On December 4, 2012, Dole appeared on the Senate floor to request that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities be ratified. "Bob Dole is here because he wants to know that other countries will treat the disabled as well as we do." The Senate rejected the treaty by a vote of 61–38, less than the 66 needed for ratification. Many Republican senators voted against the bill, afraid that it would jeopardize American sovereignty.

In early 2014, Dole started a reunion tour of Kansas, vowing to visit each of the state's 105 counties. He spent approximately an hour at each stop talking to old friends and well-wishers. During incumbent Kansas Senator Pat Roberts' re-election bid in 2014, Dole supported and campaigned for him.

Dole endorsed former Florida governor Jeb Bush in his presidential campaign in 2015. Dole endorsed Florida senator Marco Rubio's campaign after Bush halted his campaign following the South Carolina primary. Dole blasted Texas senator Ted Cruz, claiming that he "question[ed] his allegiance to the party" and that if he were to win the Republican nomination, he would suffer "wholesale losses." After Donald Trump won the Republican nomination, Dole endorsed him, while all other GOP presidential candidates, George H. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, refused to do so, and thus became the lone former candidate to attend the 2016 Republican National Convention. Despite Dole's 1996 primary rival Pat Buchanan, Dole attended every GOP convention since 1964, and did not consider skipping the 2016 edition.

Former Dole strategists, including Paul Manafort, played a central role in Trump's presidential campaign. Dole managed to arrange a series of meetings between Trump's staff and Taiwanese officials, as well as assisting in the 2016 Republican Party's efforts to introduce positive words to Taiwan. Dole's donation in February 2016 to help pay for a camp for children with cancer in central Kansas.

In January 2018, Dole was given the Congressional Gold Medal for his contribution to the nation as a "soldier, congressman, and statesman." Despite being immobile, Dole begged for an aide to assist him in registering for the national anthem prior to the service.

Dole, who was 95 years old and in a wheelchair, stood up with the support of an aide at George H. W. Bush's funeral in the United States Capitol rotunda on December 4, 2018, saluting him on the occasion.

In a public statement on October 9, 2020, Dole expressed his displeasure with the Commission's presidential discussions, including how he knew all the Republicans on the commission and feared that "none of them supports[ed]" the president.

In an interview with USA Today conducted for his 98th birthday, Dole endorsed Trump in both 2016 and 2020, though Dole said he was "trumped out" and that Trump had lost the 2020 election despite his assertions to the contrary. "He lost the election, and I regret that he did, but they did," Dole, who then said that Trump, "had Rudy Giuliani running all over the country, claiming fraud." In all those lawsuits he brought and statements he made, he never committed any fraud." "I'm a Trumper," Dole said at one point during the discussion, but "I'm sort of Trumped out."

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