His Contract with America

Dedicated to the Memory of Senator Bob Dole

Special thanks to Fabiola Pe?a Blasco

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Having won a series of primary elections and caucuses, Robert Joseph Dole became the Republican candidate for the Grand Old Party (GOP), at the California National Convention (August 1996), officially resigning from the Senate in June 1996. History would deny him the toughest job on earth for it would be “The Comeback Kid,” Bill Clinton, who would go on to win a second term, in hindsight to some degree - in our humble opinion - for the better, his victory extending one of the longest period of economic expansion in American History. Yet the late senator who passed away last night in his home in Honolulu Hawaii, from a 10-month fight agains stage IV lung cancer, did win many an accolade throughout his life - a life devoted to serving his constituents, his country and those who suffer from disability.

To begin with, Dole was a fierce advocate of “The Contract with America,” a legislative agenda designed by Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey that successfully returned a Republican majority to the United States House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years, in 1994. To be sure, that was a resounding political blow to the “Comeback Kid” who was only in the second year of his first term. Yet, despite a long line of legislative success stories throughout his 46-year-long congressional career, there is one piece of legislation for which he will be forever held with high regard and distinct honour among his fellow women and men - “The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990).” To be clear, without the industry and leadership of Bob Dole, that legislative idea could not have materialised let alone become the law of the land. As a result, countless of lives from different backgrounds have seen theirs improved with help from the federal government.

Undoubtedly, his devotion to the cause was indeed personal, having won two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star for the injuries he sustained during World War II, rendering him with limited mobility in his right arm prompting him to learn to write with his left hand and carry a pen in his right arm to minimise the public effect. To name an example, history records that when a group of Kansas students, who were deaf, visited Washington D.C. and requested a White House tour, Senator Dole made sure that a sign language interpreter would be available for them - originally, the students having been denied such service. And, if we were to go back further in history, we would find a foundation started by the late Senator that issued financial help to organisations that ensured training and employment opportunities to people who were disabled, all the way back in 1984.

On a personal level, Senator Dole was also a winner for he was fortunate to have been part of a “LOVE STORY” of more than 45 years - no less. Elizabeth Dole, who survives him, and whom we keep in our thoughts and prayers during what must be the most difficult moment in her life, met Bob in 1972 and engaged in a unique “TELEPHONE” relationship that lasted a while before they actually went on their first “official” date. Facetiously, the former Senator from North Carolina, who also served in the Nixon, Reagan and Bush (Father) administrations, went on to say that she “wanted to make sure Bob was not some guy chasing women around Capitol Hill.” Arguably, their love was based on profound admiration for one another, a symbiotic relationship that propelled them both and gave them the strength they each needed to proceed and to "BELIEVE" in one another. To be specific, Elizabeth fell for “his compassionate heart and the fact that he loved to feel that each day he could make a difference for at least one person in need.” In turn, Senator Dole, admittedly, was inspired by her passion for public service, admired her for her 2000 run for the White House (the first time a female had ever become a viable contender), and, to be clear, her “ELEGANCE,” “manner” and “style,” (that will no doubt cast a “SPARKLE” in his eyes, when he looks upon her from heaven) which today most certainly accompany her on what would have been their 46th wedding anniversary.

His political stance, after concluding his long political career was made abundantly clear during recent years. He became the first and only living Republican Presidential Nominee to endorse former President Donald Trump, once he clinched the Republican nomination - Dole, to be clear, had originally first endorsed Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio. In fact, one of Dole’s closest advisers, Paul Manafort, played a major role in Trump’s presidential campaign. Upon winning the election, Dole became instrumental in ensuring a series of meetings between Taiwan and the Trump transition team as it was deemed instrumental by the former Senator to send a clear signal to China, from the start, that the new President would take a tougher stance than his predecessor, Barack Hussein Obama.

Truth be told, the late Senator, as the current President of the United States, Joe Biden put it was, arguably, “among the greatest of the greatest generation.” He was an American statesman whose influence, and mark ran throughout the course of almost 55 years all the way to the start of the Trump Administration. Yet, in the eyes of his fellow women and men, he will also be remembered for being a kind, gentle, caring and loving man who donated his time and resources to such worthwhile causes as starting a camp for children with cancer in his native Kansas. Surely, there is a special place in the afterlife for such a man. May you Rest in Peace, Senator Robert Dole.