RIP Bob Dole
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Statement of President Joe Biden on the Passing of Senator Bob Dole
DECEMBER 05, 2021
•A month after being sworn in as President, one of the first conversations I had with anyone outside the White House was with our dear friends, Bob and Elizabeth Dole, at their home in Washington. Bob had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer, and I was were there to offer the same support, love, and encouragement that they showed me and Jill when our son Beau battled cancer, and that the Doles have shown us over the half century we’ve been friends.
Like all true friendships, regardless of how much time has passed, we picked up right where we left off, as though it were only yesterday that we were sharing a laugh in the Senate dining room or debating the great issues of the day, often against each other, on the Senate floor. I saw in his eyes the same light, bravery, and determination I’ve seen so many times before.
In the Senate, though we often disagreed, he never hesitated to work with me or other Democrats when it mattered most. He and Ted Kennedy came together to turn Bob’s lifelong cause into the Americans with Disabilities Act — granting tens of millions of Americans lives of greater dignity. On the Social Security Commission, he led a bipartisan effort with Pat Moynihan to ensure that every American could grow old with their basic dignity intact. When he managed the bill to create a federal holiday in the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. — a bill that many in his own caucus opposed — I will never forget what he said to our colleagues: “No first-class democracy can treat people like second-class citizens.”
Another bipartisan effort, the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, provided school meals and food for nursing mothers and young children. It saved the lives of countless young people who would otherwise have died in infancy — and brought dignity to tens of millions of families at home and abroad. This work, for Bob, was about more than passing laws. It was written on his heart.
Bob was an American statesman like few in our history. A war hero and among the greatest of the Greatest Generation. And to me, he was also a friend whom I could look to for trusted guidance, or a humorous line at just the right moment to settle frayed nerves. I will miss my friend. But I am grateful for the times we shared, and for the friendship Jill and I and our family have built with Liddy and the entire Dole family.
Bob was a man to be admired by Americans. 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.
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Statement by President George W. Bush on Senator Robert J. Dole
Dallas, Texas –“Laura and I are saddened by the passing of a great patriot, Senator Bob Dole. This good man represented the finest of American values. He defended them in uniform during World War II. He advanced them in the United States Senate. And he lived them out as a father, husband, and friend. Our entire family benefitted from that friendship, including my father. I will always remember Bob’s salute to my late dad at the Capitol, and now we Bushes salute Bob and give thanks for his life of principled service. Laura and I send our heartfelt condolences to Elizabeth and join our fellow citizens in prayer for her comfort.”
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'Bob Dole was an American war hero and true patriot for our Nation. He served the Great State of Kansas with honor and the Republican Party was made stronger by his service.
'Our Nation mourns his passing, and our prayers are with Elizabeth and his wonderful family.'
President Donald J. Trump.
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Only non-witches get due process.
- Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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I believe I mentioned this before, but a few years ago, I was able to volunteer on an Honor Flight, which take US World War 2 veterans for a tour of Washington DC from their home city. It was a very cool day.
But also, Senator Dole greeted the veterans at the World War 2 memorial. My understanding is that he tried to do that at least once per week. As Jon said, A class act.
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@george-k said in RIP Bob Dole:
@jon-nyc said in RIP Bob Dole:
Fantastic as it is unimaginable today.
You mean this?
I meant the absence of partisanship as well as the humor and sheer grace of the man.
Only non-witches get due process.
- Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
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@lufins-dad Ok that's funny
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I believe I mentioned this before, but a few years ago, I was able to volunteer on an Honor Flight, which take US World War 2 veterans for a tour of Washington DC from their home city. It was a very cool day.
But also, Senator Dole greeted the veterans at the World War 2 memorial. My understanding is that he tried to do that at least once per week. As Jon said, A class act.
@taiwan_girl said in RIP Bob Dole:
I believe I mentioned this before, but a few years ago, I was able to volunteer on an Honor Flight, which take US World War 2 veterans for a tour of Washington DC from their home city. It was a very cool day.
But also, Senator Dole greeted the veterans at the World War 2 memorial. My understanding is that he tried to do that at least once per week. As Jon said, A class act.
That is great! We did that once (just escorted a WWII distant family member) during their Wisconsin->DC honor flight. It was an absolutely incredible experience. It would've been great to see Dole there, too. Good on you, TG!
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@george-k said in RIP Bob Dole:
@jon-nyc said in RIP Bob Dole:
Fantastic as it is unimaginable today.
You mean this?
I meant the absence of partisanship as well as the humor and sheer grace of the man.
@jon-nyc said in RIP Bob Dole:
I meant the absence of partisanship as well as the humor and sheer grace of the man.
You weren't reading the news of the day. Google "Bob Dole Hatchet Man" and restrict your search to before 1/1/2000, and you'll find stuff like this.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-10-mn-34762-story.html
Now that George Bush isn’t behaving like a wimp, can Bob Dole keep from acting like a bully?
In a Republican presidential race that had fewer thrills than a luncheon of bond attorneys, the GOP version of the Democrats’ “character” question has acquired great weight.Dole, until now the owner of the GOP franchise on street toughness, will respond.
reviving the image of Dole as hatchet man--the mean-spirited vice presidential candidate who nearly became a drag on Gerald R. Ford’s failed bid for the White House in 1976.
He has spent half his life here, long enough to grow old, playing more roles than a veteran character actor. Even the epithets are evidence of this: Nixon's Doberman pinscher, Ford's hatchet man, Bush's water carrier, deal-maker for Gingrich's revolution.
The presidential candidacy of Senate Majority Leader Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) is now a war zone for the deep, inner conflicts of the American electorate. At 72, he leads the Republican race for the very reason that he is suddenly vulnerable to a multimillionaire political amateur: He is one of Washington's most accomplished politicians, a master mechanic of this messy system of money, influence, deals, egos and, yes, dreams.
Indeed, it is hard to hate Washington and like Dole. Even on the hustings, with his arcane lawmakers' lingo, he can seem to be speaking from the engine room of the grimy, hissing, clanging, unretrofitted factory that is Washington in the public mind.
The only good Republican is a dead Republican.
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That’s also a quarter century ago. Dole was livid with GHWB in the 88 primary yet created the most poignant moment of Bush’s funeral service.
