Staff report
Robert Joseph ‘Bob’ Dole, war hero and stalwart of the United States Senate from 1969-1996, died in his sleep Sunday at age 98. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer and had started treatments.
Dole of Kansas set a record as the longest-serving Senate Majority Leader for 11 years, a record since bested by Sen. Mitch McConnell.
He was the Republican nominee in the 1996 presidential election but lost to Bill Clinton.
Dole overcame life-threatening injuries suffered in World War II, but beat the odds and regained much of his movement. His left arm remained partially numb for the rest of his life and he never regained use of his right arm.
He also served in the Kansas legislature and received his law degree. On retirement from politics, he joined an international law firm and led the campaign for the National World War II Memorial.
He is survived by his wife, former Sen. Elizabeth Dole, and daughter Robin Dole.
President Biden said in a statement Sunday afternoon that Dole was “a man with an unerring sense of integrity and honor.”
Biden and Dole were long-time friends and colleagues in the Senate even though they were on opposite sides of the aisle.
“Bob was an American statesman like few in our history. A war hero and among the greatest of the Greatest Generation,” the president said. “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.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell released this statement:
“Elaine and I join the nation in mourning Bob Dole, our good friend and a bona fide American hero.
“Bob’s lifetime of service was rooted in a simple mission: looking out for his neighbors. At first that meant serving his customers at a soda fountain in Russell, Kansas. Then it meant heroic, decorated service with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division in World War II; brutal fighting from which Bob barely made it home. And then came a remarkable career in public service, capped off by nearly 30 years in the U.S. Senate and more than a decade as Republican Leader.
“Senate Republicans and the entire Senate were better off for Bob’s stewardship. But more importantly, his beloved Kansas and the entire nation reaped huge rewards from his service. Bob was a steady leader and a legislative master. He unlocked both conservative victories and big bipartisan achievements. His Dust Bowl roots fueled a special commitment to vulnerable Americans, and sure enough, Bob’s work on food security, veterans’ issues, and the rights of disabled Americans have continued to have an especially lasting impact.
“Whatever their politics, anyone who saw Bob Dole in action had to admire his character and his profound patriotism. Those of us who were lucky to know Bob well ourselves admired him even more. A bright light of patriotic good cheer burned all the way from Bob’s teenage combat heroics through his whole career in Washington through the years since. It still shone brightly, undimmed, to his last days.
“Bob Dole lived the kind of full, rich, and deeply honorable American life that will be impossible for any tribute today to fully capture. As we mourn this most distinguished American son, we send our sincerest condolences to Elizabeth, Robin, and the entire Dole family.”