Question: Which 1992 Republican presidential nominee was once described as “perhaps the finest columnist of our generation”?

Context paragraphs:
Bob Dole: Robert Joseph Dole (born July 22, 1923) is an American lawyer and politician who represented Kansas in Congress from 1961 to 1996 and served as the Republican Leader of the United States Senate from 1985 until 1996.  He was the Republican presidential nominee in the 1996 presidential election and the party's vice presidential nominee in the 1976 presidential election.

Marco Rubio presidential campaign, 2016: The 2016 presidential campaign of Marco Rubio, the junior United States Senator from Florida, and former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, was formally announced on April 13, 2015, at an event at the Freedom Tower in Downtown Miami.  Early polling showed Rubio, who was considered a potential candidate for Vice President by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012, as a frontrunner candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 2016 since at least the end of the 2012 election.  Rubio was the second Cuban American to run for President of the United States, declaring approximately three weeks after fellow Republican Ted Cruz.  He suspended his campaign on March 15, 2016, after finishing second in the primary for Florida, his home state.  Turning 45 in 2016, Rubio would've been the third youngest president to take office, the others being Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, who took office at ages 42 and 43 respectively.  Rubio would've also been the first president of Latin American culture, as he was born to Cuban parents, as well as the first Florida native to become president.

Thomas E. Dewey: Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician.  He served as the 47th Governor of New York from 1943 to 1954.  In 1944, he was the Republican Party's nominee for President.  He lost the 1944 election to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the closest of Roosevelt's four presidential elections.  He was again the Republican presidential nominee in 1948, but lost to President Harry S. Truman in one of the greatest upsets in presidential election history.  Dewey played a large role in winning the Republican presidential nomination for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952, and helped Eisenhower win the presidential election that year.  He also played a large part in the choice of Richard M. Nixon as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 1952 and 1956.

Politics of San Diego County: San Diego County has historically been a Republican stronghold.  The Republican presidential nominee carried the county in every presidential election from 1948 through 2004, except in 1992 when Bill Clinton won a plurality.  In 2008, Barack Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win a majority of votes in San Diego County since World War II; he won a majority of county votes again in 2012.

United States presidential election, 1948: The United States presidential election of 1948 was the 41st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1948.  Incumbent President Harry S. Truman, the Democratic nominee, who had succeeded to the presidency after the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945, successfully ran for election for a full term against Thomas E. Dewey, the Republican nominee, who also was the Republican presidential nominee in 1944.

Montana gubernatorial election, 1980: The 1980 Montana gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 1980.  Incumbent Governor of Montana Thomas Lee Judge, who was first elected in 1972 and was re-elected in 1976, ran for re-election.  However, he faced a stiff challenge in the Democratic primary from his lieutenant governor, Ted Schwinden, and he ultimately lost renomination.  Schwinden, advancing to the general election, faced Jack Ramirez, the Minority Leader of the Montana House of Representatives and the Republican nominee.  Despite the fact that Ronald Reagan, the Republican presidential nominee, won the state in a landslide that year, Schwinden managed to comfortably defeat Ramirez to win his first of two terms as governor.

Joseph Sobran: Michael Joseph Sobran Jr. (February 23, 1946 – September 30, 2010) was an American journalist, formerly with "National Review" magazine and a syndicated columnist.  Pat Buchanan called Sobran "perhaps the finest columnist of our generation".

Pat Buchanan: Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American conservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster.  Buchanan was a senior advisor to U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's "Crossfire".  He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1992 and 1996.  He ran on the Reform Party ticket in the 2000 presidential election.

Republican Party presidential primaries, 1992: The 1992 Republican presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 1992 U.S. presidential election.  Incumbent President George H.W. Bush was again selected as the nominee through a series of primary elections and caucuses culminating in the 1992 Republican National Convention held from August 17 to August 20, 1992, in Houston, Texas.

United States Senate election in Arizona, 1968: The 1968 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 5, 1968.  Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Carl Hayden did not run for reelection to an eighth term, with his longtime staff member Roy Elson running as the Democratic Party nominee to replace him.  Elson was defeated by a wide margin, however, by former U.S. Senator and Republican Presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.  Prior to Goldwater's election, the seat had been held for decades by the Democratic Party under Carl Hayden, and has thus far remained in Republican Party control since.

Supporting paragraphs: Joseph Sobran Pat Buchanan
Answer: Pat Buchanan