Bob Dole Robert Joseph " Bob " Dole ( born July 22 , 1923 ) is an American politician who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996 and in the House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969 . In the 1976 presidential election , he was the Republican Party nominee for and incumbent President Gerald Ford ' s running mate . In the presidential election of 1996 , he was the Republican nominee for President challenging incumbent President Bill Clinton . In 2007 , President George W . Bush appointed Dole and Secretary Donna Shalala as co - chairs of the commission to investigate problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center . Bob Dole is currently a member of the advisory council of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation and special counsel at the Washington , D . C . , office of law firm Alston & Bird . Dole is married to former U . S . cabinet member and former U . S . Senator Elizabeth Hanford Dole of North Carolina . Early years . Bob Dole was born on July 22 , 1923 in Russell , Kansas , the son of Bina M . ( née Talbott ; 1904 – 1983 ) and Doran Ray Dole ( 1901 – 1975 ) . Bob Dole ' s father , who had moved the family to Russell while Dole was still a toddler , earned money by running a small creamery . One of his father ' s customers was the father of future Senator Arlen Specter . During the Great Depression , which severely impacted Kansas and its residents , the Dole family moved to the basement of their home and eventually rented out the upper floors to raise money . As a boy , Dole worked as a soda jerk in the local drug store . Dole graduated from Russell High School in the spring of 1941 and enrolled at the University of Kansas the following fall . Dole had been a star high school athlete in Russell , and influential Kansas basketball coach Phog Allen traveled to Russell to recruit him to play for the basketball team . While at KU , Dole played for the basketball team , the track team , and the football team . In football , Dole played at the end position , earning varsity letters in 1942 and 1944 . While in college , he joined the Kappa Sigma Fraternity , and in 1970 was bestowed with the Fraternity ' s " Man of the Year " honor . Dole ' s pre - med studies at KU were interrupted by World War II . After the war , he returned to become a law student . Dole attended the University of Arizona from 1948 to 1951 and earned both his LLB and BA degrees from Washburn University in 1952 . Dole was initiated as a Freemason of Russell Lodge No . 177 , Russell , Kansas on April 19 , 1955 . Dole grew up in a house at 1035 North Maple in Russell ( ) and it remained his official residence throughout his political career . World War II and recovery . In 1942 , Dole joined the United States Army ' s Enlisted Reserve Corps to fight in World War II , becoming a second lieutenant in the Army ' s 10th Mountain Division . In April 1945 , while engaged in combat near Castel d ' Aiano in the Apennine mountains southwest of Bologna , Italy , Dole was hit by German machine gun fire in his upper right back and his right arm was also badly injured . As Lee Sandlin describes , when fellow soldiers saw the extent of his injuries , all they thought they could do was to " give him the largest dose of morphine they dared and write an ' M ' for ' morphine ' on his forehead in his own blood , so that nobody else who found him would give him a second , fatal dose . " Dole was transported to the United States , where his recovery was slow , interrupted by blood clots and a life - threatening infection . After large doses of penicillin had not succeeded , he overcame the infection with the administration of streptomycin , which at the time was still an experimental drug . The hospital where Dole recovered from his wounds , the former Battle Creek Sanitarium , is now named Hart - Dole - Inouye Federal Center in honor of three patients who became United States Senators : Dole , Philip Hart and Daniel Inouye . Dole was decorated three times , receiving two Purple Heart s for his injuries , and the Bronze Star with combat " V " for valor for his attempt to assist a downed radio man . Political career . Dole ran for office for the first time in 1950 and was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives , serving a two - year term . After graduating from law school at Washburn University in Topeka , he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in his hometown of Russell in 1952 . Also in 1952 , Dole became the County Attorney of Russell County , serving in that position for eight years . In 1960 , Dole was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Kansas ' 6th Congressional District , located in central Kansas . In 1962 , his district was merged with the 3rd District in western Kansas to form the 1st Congressional District , a huge 60 - county district that soon became known as the " Big First . " Dole was re - elected that year and twice thereafter without serious difficulty . U . S . Senate . In 1968 , Dole defeated Kansas Governor William H . Avery for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate to succeed retiring Senator Frank Carlson , subsequently being elected . Dole was re - elected in 1974 , 1980 , 1986 , and 1992 , before resigning on June 11 , 1996 , to focus on his Presidential campaign . Dole faced only one truly enthusiastic and well - financed challenger , Congressman Bill Roy in 1974 . Much of Roy ' s popularity was in response to the fallout from Watergate . Dole would win re - election in 1974 by only a few thousand votes , having in the end graphically painted Roy as pro - abortion . While in the Senate , Dole served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1971 until 1973 , the ranking Republican on the Agriculture Committee from 1975 to 1978 , and the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee from 1979 to 1980 . When the Republicans took control of the Senate after the 1980 elections , Dole became chairman of the Finance Committee in 1981 , serving until 1985 . From 1985 , when Howard Baker of Tennessee retired , until his resignation from the Senate , Dole was the leader of the Senate Republicans , serving as from 1985 until 1987 and again from 1995 to 1996 . Dole served as from 1987 to 1995 . Following the advice of conservative William Kristol , Dole flatly rejected the health care plan of Bill Clinton , remarking , " There is no crisis in health care . " Dole had a moderate voting record and was widely considered to be one of the few Kansas Republicans who could bridge the gap between the moderate and conservative wings of the Kansas Republican Party . As a Congressman in the early ' 60s , he supported the major civil rights bills , which appealed to moderates . When Johnson proposed the Great Society in 1964 – 65 , Dole voted against some War on Poverty measures like public - housing subsidies and Medicare , thus appealing to conservatives . Dole ' s first speech in the Senate in 1969 was a plea for federal aid for the handicapped . Later , as a member of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs , Dole joined liberal Senator George McGovern to lower eligibility requirements for federal food stamps , a liberal goal that was supported by Kansas farmers . Dole ' s hawkishness on the Vietnam War and on crime issues kept him in good standing with the right wing . When they heard Nixon might make Dole chairman of the Republican National Committee , half the Republican Senators protested , especially moderates who feared Dole would direct party assets to conservatives . They were wrong , as Dole in fact offered something to all Republican factions . Presidential politics . In 1976 , Dole ran unsuccessfully for Vice President on a ticket headed by President Gerald Ford . Incumbent Vice President Nelson Rockefeller had withdrawn from consideration the previous fall , and Dole was chosen . Dole stated during the Vice Presidential debate with Walter Mondale , " I figured it up the other day : If we added up the killed and wounded in Democrat wars in this century , it would be about 1 . 6 million Americans — enough to fill the city of Detroit " . The remark backfired . Dole ran for the 1980 Republican Presidential nomination , eventually won by Ronald Reagan . Despite Dole ' s fame from the ' 76 campaign , he was viewed as a lower - tier candidate , trailing not only Reagan but George Bush , Howard Baker , John Connally , and John Anderson . Dole received only 597 votes ( less than 1 % ) in the New Hampshire primary and immediately withdrew . In March 1980 , Dole urged former President Ford to jump into the race as a stop - Reagan candidate . Dole made a more serious bid in 1988 , formally announcing his candidacy in Russell , Kansas , on November 9 , 1987 . At the ceremony , Dole was presented with the cigar box that had been used to collect donations for his war - related medical expenses . The box contained $ 100 , 000 in campaign donations . Dole started out strong by solidly defeating then - Vice President George H . W . Bush in the Iowa caucus — Bush finished third , behind television evangelist Pat Robertson . However , Bush recovered in time to defeat Dole in the New Hampshire primary a week later . The New Hampshire contest between the two was particularly bitter although they differed little on the issues . After the returns had come in on the night of that primary , Dole appeared to lose his temper in a television interview . Dole was interviewed live in New Hampshire on NBC by Tom Brokaw , who was in the NBC studio in New York . It happened that Bush was right next to Brokaw in the studio . Brokaw asked Bush if he had anything to say to Dole . Bush responded , " No , just wish him well and meet again in the south . " Dole , apparently not expecting to see Bush , when asked the same question about the Vice President said , " Yeah , stop lying about my record " , largely in response to a very tough New Hampshire Bush commercial which accused Dole of " straddling " on taxes . This remark prompted some members of the media to perceive him as angry about the loss , contributing to his " hatchet man " image earned during his tenure as RNC chairman and the ' 76 campaign . Despite two big wins in South Dakota and Minnesota a week after New Hampshire , Dole was not able to recover . Viewed by many as a micromanager who could not effectively oversee a presidential campaign while serving as a senator , he did not hire a full - time campaign manager , former TN Senator Bill Brock , until the fall of 1987 , well after Bush ' s team had been in place . Despite raising almost as much money as the Bush campaign , the Dole campaign spent its money faster and was vastly outspent in the contests held after IA , NH , MN , and SD . Despite a key endorsement by Senator Strom Thurmond , one of many Republican senators who supported their leader , Dole was defeated by Bush again in South Carolina in early March . Several days later , every southern state voted for Bush in a " Super Tuesday " sweep . Another big loss in Illinois persuaded Dole to withdraw from the race . 1996 presidential campaign . Dole was the early front runner for the GOP nomination in the 1996 presidential race . He was expected to win the nomination against underdog candidates such as the more conservative Senator Phil Gramm of Texas and more moderate Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania . However , populist Pat Buchanan upset Dole in the early New Hampshire primary , with Dole finishing second and former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander finishing third . Publisher Steve Forbes also ran and broadcast a stream of negative ads . At least eight candidates ran for the nomination . Dole eventually won the nomination , becoming the oldest first - time presidential nominee at the age of 73 years , 1 - month ( Ronald Reagan was 73 years , 6 months in 1984 , for his second presidential nomination ) . In his acceptance speech , he stated , " Let me be the bridge to an America that only the unknowing call myth . Let me be the bridge to a time of tranquillity , faith , and confidence in action , " to which incumbent president and Democratic nominee Bill Clinton responded , " We do not need to build a bridge to the past , we need to build a bridge to the future . " Dole however had been forced to spend more on the primary than he had planned and until the convention in San Diego faced federal limits on campaign spending . Dole hoped to use his long experience in Senate procedures to maximize publicity from his rare positioning as Senate Majority Leader against an incumbent President but was stymied by Senate Democrats . On June 11 , 1996 , Dole resigned his seat to focus on the campaign , saying he was either heading for " The White House or home " . The incumbent , Bill Clinton , had no serious primary opposition . Dole promised a 15 % across - the - board reduction in income tax rates and made former Congressman and supply side advocate Jack Kemp his running mate . Dole also found himself criticized from both the left and the right within the Republican Party over the convention platform , one of the major issues being the inclusion of the Human Life Amendment . Bill Clinton framed the narrative against Dole early , painting him as a mere clone of unpopular then - House Speaker Newt Gingrich , warning America that Dole would work in concert with the Republican Congress to slash popular social programs , like Medicare and Social Security , dubbed by Clinton as " Dole - Gingrich " . Dole ' s tax - cut plan found itself under attack from the White House , who said it would " blow a hole in the deficit " . Dole was defeated , as pundits had long expected , by Bill Clinton in the 1996 election . Clinton won in a 379 – 159 Electoral College landslide , capturing 49 . 2 % of the vote against Dole ' s 40 . 7 % and Ross Perot ' s 8 . 4 % who drew equally from both candidates . Dole is the only person in the history of the two major U . S . political parties to have been his party ' s nominee for both President and Vice President , but who was never elected to either office . The span of 20 years between his participation in the 1976 vice - presidential debate and the 1996 presidential debates is the longest for any candidate since televised debates in presidential election years were instituted in 1960 . Retirement . Dole has worked part - time for a Washington , D . C . , law firm , Alston & Bird LLP , and engaged in a career of writing , consulting , public speaking , and television appearances . This has included becoming a television commercial spokesman for such products as Viagra , Visa , Dunkin ' Donuts and Pepsi - Cola ( with Britney Spears ) , and as an occasional political commentator on the interview program " Larry King Live " , and has been a guest a number of times on Comedy Central ' s satirical news program , " The Daily Show with Jon Stewart " . Dole was , for a short time , a commentator opposite Bill Clinton on CBS ' s " 60 Minutes " . Dole guest - starred as himself on NBC ' s Brooke Shields sitcom " Suddenly Susan " in January 1997 ( shortly after losing the presidential election ) . He also made a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live , parodying himself in November 1996 . On the Larry King show Dole had a heated exchange with Democratic presidential primary candidate Wesley Clark in which Dole correctly predicted that Clark would lose the New Hampshire primary and other primaries . In 2001 , Dole , at age 77 , was treated successfully for an abdominal aortic aneurysm by vascular surgeon Kenneth Ouriel . Dr . Ouriel said Dole " maintained his sense of humor throughout his care . " The Robert J . Dole Institute of Politics , housed on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence , Kansas , was established to bring bipartisanship back to politics . The Institute , which opened in July 2003 to coincide with Dole ' s 80th birthday , has featured such notable speakers as former President Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani . Dole has written several books , including one on jokes told by the Presidents of the United States , in which he ranks the presidents according to their level of humor . On January 18 , 1989 , Dole was presented with the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Reagan . Then , on January 17 , 1997 , President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his service in the military and his political career . Dole received the American Patriot Award in 2004 for his lifelong dedication to America and his service in World War II . Dole ' s legacy also includes a commitment to combating hunger both in the United States and around the globe . In addition to numerous domestic programs , and along with former Senator George McGovern ( D - South Dakota ) , Dole created an international school lunch program through the George McGovern - Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program , which , funded largely through the Congress , helps fight child hunger and poverty by providing nutritious meals to children in schools in developing countries . This internationally popular program would go on to provide more than 22 million meals to children in 41 countries in its first eight years . It has since led to greatly increased global interest in and support for school - feeding programs — which benefit girls and young women , in particular — and won McGovern and Dole the 2008 World Food Prize . In recent years , Dole has struggled with health problems . In December 2004 , he had a hip - replacement operation which required him to receive blood thinners . One month after the surgery , it was determined that Dole was bleeding inside his head . He spent 40 days at Walter Reed , and upon release , his " good " arm , the left , was of limited use . Dole told a reporter that he needed help to handle the simplest of tasks , since both of his arms are injured . Dole undergoes physical therapy for his left shoulder once a week , but doctors have told him that he might not regain total use of his left arm . In 2009 , he was hospitalized for an elevated heart rate and sore legs for which he underwent a successful skin - graft procedure . In February 2010 , he was hospitalized for pneumonia after undergoing knee surgery . He spent 10 months at Walter Reed , recovering from the surgery and experienced 3 bouts with pneumonia . Dole was released from the hospital in November 2010 . However , in January 2011 , Dole was readmitted to Walter Reed Hospital and spent about six days there , being treated for a fever as well as a minor infection . Dole is special counsel at the Washington , D . C . , law firm of Alston & Bird . On April 12 , 2005 , Dole released his autobiography " One Soldier ' s Story : A Memoir " ( ISBN 0 - 06 - 076341 - 8 ) , which talks of his World War II experiences and his battle to survive his war injuries . Dole also was responsible for a large amount of funds raised for the U . S . National World War II memorial in Washington , D . C . On June 28 , 2004 , Dole was named ' Shining Star of Perseverance ' by the Assurant Employee Benefits WillReturn Council . On September 18 , 2004 , Dole offered the inaugural lecture to dedicate the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service , during which he chronicled his life as a public servant and also discussed the importance of public service in terms of defense , civil rights , the economy , and in daily life . Dole also gave the 2008 Vance Distinguished Lecture at Central Connecticut State University . In 2007 , Dole joined fellow former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker , Tom Daschle , and George Mitchell to found the Bipartisan Policy Center , a non - profit think - tank that works to develop policies suitable for bipartisan support . That same year , President George W . Bush appointed Dole and Donna Shalala co - chairs of the President ' s Commission on Care for America ' s Returning Wounded Warriors to investigate problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center . Dole appears in the 2008 documentary on Lee Atwater , . In the film , Dole says , " I don ' t comment on Atwater . " Additionally , " This isn ' t politics , this is garbage . " On January 26 , 2012 , Dole issued a letter critical of Newt Gingrich , focusing on Dole ' s and Gingrich ' s time working together on Capitol Hill . The letter was issued immediately before the Florida primary . Bob Dole endorsed Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination . Dole was hospitalized in the latter part November 2012 , at Walter Reed Army Medical Center , according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid . On December 4 , 2012 , Dole made an appearance on the Senate floor to advocate ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities . Democratic Senator John Kerry explained : " He is here because he wants to know that other countries will come to treat the disabled as we do . " The Senate rejected the treaty by a vote of 61 - 38 , less than the 66 required for ratification . Many Republican senators voted against the bill , fearing it would impact American sovereignty . Awards . In 1997 , Dole received the U . S . Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official , an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards . Personal life . Dole married Phyllis Holden , an occupational therapist at a veterans hospital , in Battle Creek , Michigan , in 1948 . Their daughter , Robin , was born in 1954 . Dole and Holden divorced in 1972 . Holden died on April 22 , 2008 . Dole met his second wife Elizabeth in the spring of 1972 . The couple dated , and married on December 6 , 1975 . They had no children , though she is stepmother to Bob ' s adult daughter Robin from his first marriage . Dole is a Freemason and a member of Russell Lodge No . 177 , Russell , Kansas . In 1975 , Dole was elevated to the 33rd˚of the Fraternal Order of Freemasonry . Dole often refers to himself in the third person in conversation .