Bob Dole, former White House candidate, died at 98

Former Senator Bob Dole, a veteran of World War II and a repeatedly unfortunate candidate for the White House, died this Sunday morning at the age of 98, raising a wave of tributes for this iconic figure in US politics.

Shortly after the announcement of his death by the founding of his wife Elizabeth Dole, President Joe Biden praised an “American statesman unlike any other in our history,” a “war hero,” but also a “friend” with a “sense of integrity and infallible honor ”.

“America lost one of its heroes, our family lost its rock,” the Dole family said in a statement.

In February, he announced that he had advanced lung cancer.

A three-time candidate for the Republican candidacy for the White House, Dole was defeated in the party internals by Ronald Reagan in 1980, then by George Bush in 1988, before being the standard-bearer in 1996.

But Democrat Bill Clinton easily defeated this then 73-year-old politician who seemed outdone by the era of televised politics.

Twenty years earlier Gerald Ford had chosen him as their vice presidential candidate, but the Republican duo lost to Democrats Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale.

Heartfelt condolences for politics

“Senator Bob Dole was a great man who lived an extraordinary life in the service of America, and all who had the privilege of meeting him will sadly miss him,” said former Vice President Mike Pence.

On the other side of the political spectrum, Senator Bernie Sanders, a figure on the left wing of the Democratic Party, greeted a man who had “served his country with courage on the battlefield and with dignity in the Senate.” .

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, ordered that the flags of the Capitol fly at half mast, according to her chief of staff.

Dole was born on July 22, 1923 and grew up in Russell, a small town in Kansas (downtown).

He returned from World War II with medals for his bravery but seriously wounded, for which he had to undergo several operations in the span of three years. This forced him to re-learn to walk and regain control of his body, except for his right arm.

Then Russell’s people ran a charity campaign to pay for his medical operations, while rallying around the young lawyer he became who entered politics in 1952.

He entered Congress in 1961, first as a deputy, then as a senator from the state of Kansas. When his parliamentary career ended 35 years later, he was serving as the Republican majority leader in the Upper House.

Now retired as a legislator, Bob Dole continued to attack Democrats, in particular fighting President Barack Obama’s iconic health insurance reform plan, Obamacare.

He was married to Elizabeth Dole, who had a political career of her own, serving as Secretary of Transportation and Labor, as well as a Senator from North Carolina. He had a daughter from his first marriage.

In the Senate, this slender, ever-tanned man with the piercing gaze was known for his mastery of negotiation and the art of compromise, but also for his humor.

Outside of politics, he didn’t hesitate to star in television commercials for Pepsi and … Viagra. (I)