Bob Dole Moves on to the Great Legislative Chamber in the Sky

Bob Dole has died. It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years since he ran for president. Dole's been out of the spotlight since the 2000s, but he was a giant of late 20th century GOP politics. And he was a GOP, not a conservative. While running the senate GOP, Dole raised spending and taxes and publicly clashed with the conservative Newt Gingrich. Back in those days House Majority Leader Dick Armey said the enemy wasn't the Dems, it was the senate.

Dole was the default and dull candidate of a very dull and lackluster 1996 GOP primary in which Pat Bucanan scared the hell out of the GOP-e. Understand younger readers, there was never any chance Dole was gonna beat Bill Clinton. In 1996 America was fat, dumb, and contented. There was no reason to vote Willie out of office. 

Dole was 73, and in 1996 that was really old. He was a terrible candidate in 1996. But he was a terrible candidate in 1988 too, when he lost the GOP nomination to George Bush. Dole mumbled and sounded like he was in a perpetual bad mood. Having spent decades in Congress, Dole's world was one of Meet the Press interviews, legislative conference committees and whip counts. On the campaign trail he spoke legislationese. Dole actually declared, 'We're going to veto Clinton/Gore!' In 1976 President Ford picked him for veep. Bob Dole lost a presidential election in three different ways in three different decades. Impressive. 

He had a sense of humor, they said and Dole was a regular guest on the old Imus in the Morning program. Wife Elizabeth ran for president too. The GOP responded with a narcoleptic yawn. She was eventually a one term senator from North Carolina, replacing the great Jesse Helms. Dole is probably best remembered today as one of those World War Two generation politicians.  

Reader(s) will hear a lot of eulogizing today about Bob Dole. But don't be fooled. The Dems said he was a racist too. 

Did you people know the Dole/Kemp '96 website is still up? Click on through to see what the internet looked like in the mid-90s. Here's an old bumper sticker a few minutes from our house: