Dole, Robert (1923–)

Robert J. Dole served a lengthy political career, including years in the House of Representatives as well as the U.S. Senate and, most prominently, as a candidate for president in 1996. In addition to his prominent political service, Dole's military service was also distinguished. While serving during World War II, in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division, Bob Dole was shot and seriously injured in Italy in 1945. His recovery from his injuries required 3 years, which left his right arm paralyzed. He received two Purple Hearts as well as a Bronze Star medal during his military career. When he was discharged in 1948, he returned home to Kansas and served in the state legislature from 1950 to 1953 and as Russell County Attorney from 1952 to 1960.

Dole represented Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1960 to 1968, then in the U.S. Senate from 1969 to 1996. He served as Senate majority leader, as well as Senate minority leader, from 1985 to 1996. On May 16, 1996, Dole resigned his seat in the Senate to focus his attention on running for president.

Robert Dole's first entry into presidential politics was as the Republican vice-presidential candidate in Gerald Ford's run for president against Jimmy Carter in 1976. His political career in elected office concluded with an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 1996 as the Republican nominee. Dole had made earlier runs for president in 1980 and 1988 but received the nomination for president in 1996 to challenge Bill Clinton's bid for a second term in office. Dole was 73 years old at the time and would have become the oldest president to take office if he had been elected.

Dole's communication style was marked throughout his career by a dry wit and humor that sometimes was characterized as sarcastic and cutting. In the first national televised debate to feature vice-presidential candidates, Dole faced Walter Mondale, Carter's vice president, in the 1976 campaign. Dole's most memorable political commercials were from his 1996 campaign against Bill Clinton when commercials highlighting Dole's biography, including his military service and warm personal statements by his wife, Elizabeth, contrasted with strong attacks on Bill Clinton's moral and policy failures.

After his years in the House and Senate and running for president in 1996, Dole has remained active in politics. He has campaigned for Republican House, Senate, and gubernatorial candidates and promoted George W. Bush's presidency and reelection through campaign activities in 2000 and 2004. Bob Dole has also campaigned for his wife, Elizabeth Dole, in her own bid for the White House in 2000, as well as her election to the U.S. Senate in 2002 representing North Carolina. The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics opened at the University of Kansas in June 2003 on Dole's 80th birthday. The nonpartisan institution holds Dole's personal and political papers, in addition to sponsoring politically oriented lectures and events.

[Page 192]Since retiring from elective politics, Bob Dole has continued to remain in the public eye. In 2003 Bob Dole and Bill Clinton briefly joined the CBS News program 60 Minutes for a point-counterpoint segment. Dole's humorous side has been featured in a number of television advertisements, including Target, Viagra, Dunkin' Donuts, and advertisements for Pepsi and Visa that ran during the Super Bowl, the most prominent advertising placement on television.

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