Bob Dole: The Republicans' Man for All Seasons

by Jake H. Thompson

Traces the life and career of Senator Dole, including his Kansas childhood, World War II combat service, relationship with fellow politicians, and political accomplishments

Genres: Biography

304 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1994

Reviews

[Don Heiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thompson captures Bob Doles core values, candor, and political tactics very well. He tells Dole's life history through 1994 and helps us understand his failures and ambition in the context of changing political domestic moments.

[Cws]

92D

[Claw Machine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A serviceable, but not gripping, biography of an old Republican warhorse. Bob Dole perhaps has one of the longest, most colorful careers of all the old GOP stalwarts from the pre-Trump, hell, pre-Bush days. Starting out as a wounded war veteran, becoming a hatchet man for Gerry Ford, failing to get the nomination for presidency twice, and then becoming senate majority and minority leader, Dole's career is a picture perfect portrayal of a sort of GOP man you don't see often-the respectable, party line type who rises within the ranks in the Senate, plays by the rules, and ends up on top. That's a rare sight in the Trump era-GOP! McConnell is the closest thing the party has to a genuine party man, but with the GOP frothing at the mouth to kick out Johnson for some reason, and it looking like a tough fight for John Thune (the closest thing the modern GOP has to this archetype) to become SML, it seems like figures like Dole are, for now, just sorta gone the way of the dinosaur (as Clinton said in '96). Looking at Dole, then, is like looking at an extinct species. A guy who spent most of his life just working for the party until it rewarded him. In an era of Hawleys, Vances, and Trumps, that's not something that exists anymore. This isn't to say that Dole's era was necessarily better; the book includes how he fought Democratic attempts to sanction South Africa for Apartheid, and viciously opposed letting homosexuals serve in the military. It's just interesting to see how the GOP used to have a structure, an organized apparatus, producing men like Dole as leaders. Nowadays, that's not really true.

Anyhow, that was just my pontificating on Dole, the man, and not so much on the book. The book itself is serviceable. Really that's the best way to put it, it's just serviceable. It covers the broad strokes of Dole's life, and is filled with many relatively interesting anecdotes that help you understand Dole a bit better. But its brevity, and its publishing date (before the 1994 Republican Revolution which propelled Dole to the SML spot once more, and his 1996 bid for the presidency), somewhat limit the insights to be had on the Senator from Kansas. If you're looking for an alright overview of Dole as a person, this is probably a fine enough book if you can get a copy. Real character studies of Dole might come from other authors though-apparently Richard Ben Cramer wrote a biography of him, and if his reputation is well deserved I should probably give that a read. Still, I don't regret reading this, and it's interesting to see how Republican leaders were made pre-Trump.