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Post by Admin on Dec 5, 2021 19:00:34 GMT
Bob Dole, former Republican Senator and World War II hero has died at age 98, after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in February.
Bob Dole, a Republican Party stalwart and presidential hopeful who espoused a brand of plain-spoken conservatism as one of Washington's most recognizable political figures throughout the latter half of the 20th century, died Sunday.
"Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep. At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years," according to a statement from his family.
He had announced in February that he was being treated for advanced lung cancer. President Joe Biden visited Dole shortly after learning of the diagnosis.
Dole, who was seriously wounded during World War II, had suffered a series of health ailments in previous years. In 1991, he received surgery for prostate cancer, received abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery in 2001, was hospitalized in 2005 after a fall in his home and was treated for a leg infection in 2009.
Dole is survived by his wife, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, and daughter Robin Dole.
Arriving in Washington at the dawn of the Kennedy administration, Dole would serve for 27 years as a U.S. senator from Kansas, including two stints as the Senate majority leader, though he might be best known for his unsuccessful run as the Republican presidential nominee against Bill Clinton in 1996, his third attempt at the White House. He also served as President Gerald Ford's running mate in 1976 after Nelson Rockefeller declined to stay on as vice president.
Early in his Senate career, he was labeled a "hatchet man" by his critics and drew national attention for his vehement defense of President Richard Nixon throughout the Watergate scandal. He considered Nixon a friend and a mentor — later eulogizing Nixon at his funeral in 1994 as the "most durable public figure of our time." In a notable departure from his sour public image, he choked up at the end of his remarks.
But in taking up the mantle of GOP leader in the Senate, Dole's reputation became that of a whip smart lawmaker and a tough negotiator willing to work across the aisle with Democrats on issues such as Social Security reform, the Americans with Disabilities Act and landmark nutrition legislation.
"By all rights, he and I should have had a lousy relationship," former Democratic Sen. Tom Daschle, who was the Senate's top Democrat during Dole's second stint as majority leader, said in a 2000 speech. "The fact that we did not was due to Bob Dole — to his civility, to his pragmatism, to his quick wit and self-effacing humor, and to his love of this country and to this United States Senate. His sense of fairness and decency is a standard for which everyone in public life should aim."
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Post by Admin on Dec 5, 2021 21:23:12 GMT
 Bob Dole, the long-serving Senate leader who spent 35 years as a Republican stalwart, including as his party’s nominee for president in 1996, died on Sunday. He was 98. The Elizabeth Dole Foundation announced the death. “It is with heavy hearts we announce that Senator Robert Joseph Dole died early this morning in his sleep. At his death, at age 98, he had served the United States of America faithfully for 79 years,“ said a statement from the foundation, named for his wife, herself a former U.S. senator from North Carolina. Although a staunch conservative who focused on balanced spending, deficit reduction, and foreign policy, Dole was never beholden to the party line during his years in Congress representing his home state. He co-authored food stamp legislation with a progressive icon, persuaded President Ronald Reagan to push through tax increases and commiserated with President Bill Clinton over dealing with Newt Gingrich, the obdurate House speaker, in the 1990s — “No, you talk to him,” Dole would say to Clinton. Dole later won the Republican presidential nomination and ran against Clinton in 1996, 20 years after he had been the party’s vice presidential nominee in 1976. He lost both times, the only American politician to do so. President Joe Biden on Sunday praised his former Senate colleague as a friend and “an American statesman like few in our history.” “Bob was a man to be admired by Americans,” Biden said in a statement. “He had an unerring sense of integrity and honor. May God bless him, and may our nation draw upon his legacy of decency, dignity, good humor, and patriotism for all time.“ The White House later said that the president and first lady Jill Biden had spoken by phone with Elizabeth Dole to “express their sincere condolences.” |
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Post by Admin on Dec 9, 2021 20:33:24 GMT
WATCH: Dole a ‘giant of history,' Biden says at memorial service President Joe Biden hailed the late Sen. Bob Dole as a “giant of history” and a “patriot” during a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda where the body of the former senator is lying in state. Biden said Dole “belongs here, in this place, this temple to liberty and temple to possibility.” The president said of Dole, “He, too, was a giant of our history.”  President Joe Biden, a longtime friend of Dole , said the former Kansas Senator, presidential contender and World War II veteran, should have the final word as he read from his colleague of 25 years' own plea for the country to come together and find common ground. “Truth of the matter is, as divided as we are, the only way forward for democracy is unity — consensus -- the only way,” Biden told those gathered. “We may follow his wisdom and his timeless truth and reach consensus on the basic fundamental principles we all agree on.”  The morning ceremony brought about 100 invited guests and congressional leaders as Dole's casket, draped with the American flag, as they all sat under the Capitol dome. Dole, who served nearly 36 years in Congress, died Sunday at the age of 98. He was a leader known for his caustic wit. He shaped tax and foreign policy and worked to help the disabled, enshrining protections against discrimination in employment, education and public services in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Dole won the Republican nomination in 1996, but was defeated when President Bill Clinton won a second term. He was also the 1976 GOP vice presidential candidate on the losing ticket with President Gerald Ford. |
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Post by Admin on Dec 10, 2021 14:13:02 GMT
LIVE: Funeral Service For Bob Dole | NBC News
Watch live coverage as Bob Dole is remembered at funeral and memorial services. Dole was a longtime Republican senator, a presidential candidate in 1996 and a World War II veteran. He died in his sleep at the age of 98.
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