DOLE, ROBERT JOSEPH
Robert Joseph “Bob” Dole overcame childhood poverty and a wartime injury that left him partially paralyzed to become one of the most powerful players in national politics. The Republican
majority leader from Kansas often won praise
from Republicans and Democrats alike for find-
ing a middle course through difficult issues. His
long career in national politics put him at the
center of major legislative debates; and whether
in budgetary, social, or foreign policy matters, he
often bridged party differences. These battles
made him not only a skilled negotiator but, by
the 1990s, the most powerful leader in his party.
His politics were generally characterized by eco-
nomic conservatism, support for CIVIL RIGHTS,
and moderation on social issues. In addition to
being a vice presidential candidate in 1976, Dole
mounted three presidential campaigns, in 1980,
1988, and 1996.
The values of Dole’s working-class family
informed his upbringing. He was born on July
22, 1923, in Russell, Kansas, the son of an egg
and cream station owner, Doran Ray Dole, and
a traveling sewing machine saleswoman, Bina
Talbot Dole. An athletic young man, Dole
excelled in football, basketball, and track. He
worked at several jobs and wanted to be a doc-
tor. At age 18, he enrolled in the pre-med pro-
gram at the University of Kansas. Drafted two
years later, in 1943, he found himself fighting in
Italy. WORLD WAR II had almost ended in April
1945 when a shell hit him on the battlefield,
smashing his neck, shoulder, and spine. Doctors
thought he would be crippled. But Dole’s per-
sistence through three years of operations and
therapy brought an amazing recovery. His only
permanent disabilities are a lack of control of his
right arm and hand, and partial loss of control
of his left.
The 25-year-old survivor was transformed.
With new earnestness, he finished his under-
graduate studies at the University of Arizona
and earned a law degree with honors from
Washburn University of Topeka.
Law quickly led to politics. Dole served one
term in the Kansas Legislature in 1951, and for
the remainder of the decade worked as a prose-
cutor in his local county. He entered national
politics in 1960 with election to the U.S. House
