http://www.bobdole.org/main.php That is my heaven ^^ I LOVE Bob Dole ^_^ He is a World War II hero. And the spokesman for Viagra. He is a Senator. But ran for President too. ^^ And when we were at the Strawberry Mall in Harrisburg or wherever for a field trip there was a book on Bob Dole there, and I would have bought it too, if I had enough money. Here's some stuff on him. Bob Dole has been called "a towering figure" and "the most enduring Republican leader of the twentieth century." Senator Dole has a distinguished record of public service that has made a tremendous positive impact on America. Follow the links below to read the his life story. Official Biography The Dole Family Senator Elizabeth Dole "Anyone who wants to understand me must first understand Russell, Kansas. It is my home, where my roots lie, and a constant source of strength. My father's view of the world as "stewers versus doers" registered early. From my neighbors, I learned to feel deeply for God, country and family. In Russell, I came to understand there are things worth living for, and, if need be, dying for. The Russell of my youth was not a place of wealth. Yet it was generous with the values that would shape my outlook and the compassion that would restore life's richness after I had begun to doubt my future following the war. Ever since, I have tried in my own way to give back some of what the town has given me. I have tried to defend and serve the America I learned to love in Russell." -- Senator Bob Dole, (from Unlimited Partners by Bob and Elizabeth Dole) Growing up in Russell Bob Dole was born on July 22, 1923 in Russell, Kansas, the second of four children, to the late Doran R. and Bina Talbott Dole. Bob's two sisters, Gloria and Norma Jean still live in Russell. His younger brother, Kenny, passed away a few years ago. The Doles were a modest, hard-working family. Bob Dole's father, Doran Dole, ran a creamery company. During Bob's childhood years, Bob's mother, Bina, sold sewing machines and gave sewing lessons. The Great Depression hit Kansas hard. In order to provide more for the family, the Doles moved into the basement of their home and rented out the rest of the house. As a lad, Bob Dole had various jobs: delivering newspapers, washing cars and delivering handbills. By the age of 12, he was serving sodas at Dawson's Drugstore. In his teenage years, Bob Dole was an athlete. He played end for the Russell football team and also played basketball. Between his parents, grandparents and fellow Russell citizens, Bob Dole developed honesty, respect for the community, and patriotism early in his life. World War II In 1942, Bob Dole joined the Army's Enlisted Reserve Corps to fight in World War II. He became a second lieutenant in the Army's 10th Mountain Division. By April of 1945, he was fighting the Nazis in the hills of Italy where the action was fast paced. One of the platoon's radio men was hit. Bob Dole crawled out of his foxhole to help him, but it was too late. Suddenly, while trying to assist the downed radio man, Dole was hit by Nazi machine gun fire in the upper right back and his right arm was so damaged that it was unrecognizable. Dole was immediately given morphine by an Army field medic to alleviate the pain, and his forehead was marked with an "M" in his own blood to alert medics. He was not expected to live. Dole waited nine long hours on the Italian battlefield before he was finally taken to the Fifteenth Evacuation Hospital. After a brief stay in a field Army hospital in Italy, he was transported back to the United States and to Topeka's Winter General Army Hospital, where he continued his painful recovery and endured a kidney operation. Then, he was transferred to Percy Jones Army Medical Center in Michigan, where he survived his second brush with death -- blood clotting. He was a patient in that hospital along with Phillip A. Hart, whose name graces one of the U.S. Senate office buildings, where Bob Dole occupied an office. Eventually, he returned to Percy Jones Army Medical Hospital for extensive therapy on his rebuilt arm. It took about three years and nine operations for Bob Dole to rehabilitate. He learned to strengthen his injured arm, and also had to learn how to write with his left hand, as the doctors could not rebuild the excessive damage done by the Nazi machine gun fire. Bob Dole was twice decorated for heroic achievement, receiving two Purple Hearts for his injuries, and the Bronze Star Medal for his attempt to assist the downed radio man. Faith and Courage to Survive As Dole lay in his Michigan hospital bed, he realized through prayer and introspection, that God had a plan for him of faith, endurance and strength. In addition, Bob Dole realized that laughter was the best medicine. Through his faith in God, the heroic determination of the medical staff, and the loving support of his family and friends, he did not give up. He was determined to recover from the devastating wound that left him with a shattered right shoulder and paralyzed him from the neck down. When you read and learn about how the people and lives of Russell shaped Bob Dole's life, it is truly amazing to read how they came together to help him during his time of need in the hospital. A cigar box was placed at Dawson's Drugstore, where the citizens of Russell pitched in to pay $1,800 in hospital bills. In addition, Dr. Hampar Kelikian, a Chicago surgeon, agreed to perform seven corrective surgeries at no charge. To this day, Dole keeps the cigar box and receipts in his office as a reminder of the compassion that was shown by the people of Russell. Bob Dole Enters Politics Due to the extensive injuries he suffered while fighting the Nazis in Italy, Bob Dole realized that he would not complete his boyhood dream of becoming a doctor. However, motivated by the strong emotional and finacial support given to him by the people of Russell, he set out to give back to those who helped him by studying law. He earned his law degree from Washburn Municipal University (Kansas) in 1952, in addition to his undergraduate degree from the same institution. While still in law school, Dole's friend John Woelk, a former Navy pilot and Russell County Attorney, urged Dole to run for the state legislature as a Republican. Dole was elected as Russell's youngest legislator, and served from 1951 to 1953. In June 1952, Dole announced his candidacy as Russell County Attorney and was elected to four terms, serving until 1960. Having built a distinguished record as County Attorney, Dole decided to run for Congress. With a campaign budget of less than $20,000, and the campaign slogan "Roll with Dole," Bob Dole defeated Keith Seebelius and Phillip Doyle. By a narrow margin of 1 ,000 votes, Dole was elected to the House of Representatives from Kansas' Sixth District. In a good-natured play on Dole's last name, Sebelius explained his loss in this manner: "It was quite simple. You drowned me in pineapple juice." Upon arrival in the nation's capital, Dole was instantly recognized as a leader by his fellow newly elected Members of Congress, and they elected him President of the Freshman class of 1960. Dole was re-elected to the House of Representatives in 1962, 1964 and 1966. In 1968, Frank Carlson, the Senator from Kansas for more than 40 years decided to step down. Bob Dole seized the opportunity and jumped into the race for the Senate. Dole won the Republican primary and won the general election in November of 1968 to become the junior Senator for Kansas in November 1968. He was re-elected in 1974, 1980, 1988 and 1992. Dole as a Republican Leader: Bob Dole's upbringing, his remarkable survival through World War II, and his commitment to public service allowed him to rise to the pinnacle of leadership in the Republican Party. Dole's leadership in the House and the Senate, and his tireless efforts on behalf of the GOP as a whole, made Dole a key asset to the Republican Party. In 1971, President Nixon, asked him to use his skills and talent as the Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Dole served in that position for two years. Despite the pressures of being RNC Chairman during the early period of the Watergate scandal, Dole was unflappable and served his party and his president faithfully. Dole's cool grace under pressure at the RNC, and his strong record of leadership on Capitol Hill prompted President Gerald Ford in 1976 to pick Bob Dole as his running mate. Although Ford and Dole lost the presidential election to Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale, Dole's drive for success kept him moving up the ranks of leadership in the Senate. "The title of Leader is not just a job title, it's a description of the man." -- President Ronald Reagan In 1984, when Howard Baker retired from the Senate to join the Reagan White House as Chief of Staff, Bob Dole was elected Senate Majority Leader. In 1986, many of the Senators who were swept into office on the coattails of Reagan's landslide election in 1980, failed to win second terms, and the Democrats regained control of the Senate. Though bruised by the unfortunate election result, Republican Senators knew that they needed Dole's leadership skills to wage political battle against the newly empowered Democrats. They asked him to continue his leadership of the party in the Senate as the Minority Leader. As Minority Leader of the Senate, Dole served with distinction and protected American families and taxpayers from many of the the excesses of the desired big-government programs of the Democrats. In 1993, newly-elected President Clinton pushed a massive tax hike which passed by only a one vote margin in the House and Senate. Then in 1994, the Clintons' proposed to nationalize the nation's health care system. Dole stood up for American families and taxpayers and demonstrated that he was indeed a true leader for America. The voters were outraged by the excesses of the Clinton Administration and gave the Republican Party control of both the House and Senate for the first time in over 40 years. Upon recapturing the Senate, Dole's colleagues named him, for the second time in his career, Majority Leader of the Senate. Dole's 12 years as the leader of his party in the Senate set a record, and made him the longest serving Senate leader of the Republican Party since the party's founding in 1854. In addition to his leadership responsibilities in the Senate, Dole served as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1984-1986, and 1995-1996. Throughout his career, Dole was asked to represent his country in various capacitites, including; Advisor to the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 1965, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979; Advisor to the President's Delegation to Study the Food Crisis in India, 1966; Advisor to the U.S. Delegation to Study the Arab Refugee Problem, 1967; Member of the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 1970, 1973; Member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 1977; and Member of the National Commission on Social Security Reform, 1983. The Run for the Presidency After narrowly losing the White House with Gerald Ford in 1976, Bob Dole set his eyes on the Presidency. Dole ran in the Republican primaries for President in 1980 and 1988. For Dole, the third time was the charm. In 1996, after an intense primary fight, Bob Dole the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, won the GOP nomination to run against President Clinton. In late spring of 1996, Dole decided that he needed to focus all of his energies on capturing the White House, and his colleagues in the Senate needed a full-time leader. So on June 11, 1996, he said a tearful good-bye to his longtime colleagues and resigned from the U.S. Senate to devote all of his time and energy to his campaign for President of the United States. Senator Dole was willing to give up his career in Congress, which he considered it to be of great value for the American people. On the campaign trail, Bob Dole offered a vision for America's future that called for reigning in the size of the federal government, emphasizing the importance of traditional American values, and restoring The United States' prestige and supremacy abroad. At the 1996 Republican National Convention, Mrs. Dole wowed the audience with her informal style speech. Although many Americans agreed with Bob Dole's policies, he lost the election to incumbent Bill Clinton. Nonetheless, he has won the respect of Americans across the political spectrum, in an country increasingly focused on the need for a President we can look up to. Many pundits predict that there may yet be a Dole in the White House.... Current Work Since leaving public elective office, Senator Dole continues to take an active leadership role in a wide range of public policy and charitable causes. Recent projects projects include serving as Chairman of the National World War II Memorial, completed and dedicated in 2004, serving as Chairman of the International Commission on Missing Persons, and co-chairing with Former President Clinton a foundation to assist the spouses and children of the victims of the 9-11 terrorist attack and serving as President of the Federal City Council. He also takes an active role in supporting the work of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at his alma mater, Kansas University. In January 2003, he was appointed Honorary Co-Chair of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, part of President Bush's USA Freedom Corps Professionally, Senator Dole is Special Counsel to the prestigious law firm of Alston & Bird. He recently played a key role in recruiting former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) into the firm. In addition, he stablished his own company, Bob Dole Enterprises Inc., to handle his personal business interests. He remains active in politics, helping hundreds of GOP candidates in nearly every state. Since leaving elected office, Senator Dole has maintained an extremely busy schedule. In one year alone, he logged over 218,000 miles, travelling across the nation for Republican candidates, and around the world in support of various business, charitable and humanitarian concerns, including several missions to the Balkans. His books, Great Political Wit and Great Presidential Wits made the best sellers lists in top newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and USA Today. His latest book is his World War II memoirs,One Soldier's Story. It is being released by Harper & Collins on April 12, 2005 (click here for information), and is already being praised by top reviewers. Senator Dole is also an active writer of opinion pieces for major national newspapers and a frequent guest or guest host on national television, on major talk shows and news programs. Follow this link for information on Senator Dole's current work. Bob Dole is awesome ^_^ I think I've Bobed you all up enough for now.