Bob Dole

Robert Joseph Dole (born July 22, 1923) is best known as a former Republican United States Senate Majority Leader and Senator from Kansas. He was also the unsuccessful Republican nominee for President in the 1996 election, losing to incumbent Bill Clinton.

Retirement

Dole has worked part-time for a Washington, DC, law firm, and engaged in a career of writing, consulting, public speaking, and television appearances. This has included becoming a television commercial spokesman for such products as Viagra and Pepsi-Cola, and as an occasional political commentator on the popular American interview program Larry King Live. He was, for a short time, a commentator opposite Bill Clinton on CBS's 60 Minutes. He guest-starred as himself on NBC's Brooke Shields sitcom Suddenly Susan in January 1997 (shortly after losing the presidential election). On the Larry King show he had a heated exchange with Democratic presidential primary candidate Wesley Clark in which he correctly predicted that Clark would lose the New Hampshire primary and other primaries.

Related Topics:
Washington, DC - Television commercial - Viagra - Pepsi-Cola - Larry King Live - Bill Clinton - CBS - 60 Minutes - NBC - Brooke Shields - Sitcom - Suddenly Susan - January - 1997 - Wesley Clark

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The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, housed on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas, was established to bring bipartisanship back to politics. The Institute, opened in July 2003, has featured such notables as President Bill Clinton and NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Related Topics:
Lawrence, Kansas - Rudy Giuliani

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Dole has written several books, including one on jokes told by the presidents of the United States, in which he ranks the presidents according to their humorousness. President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in early 1997 for his service in the military and his political career. He also received the American Patriot Award on December 3, 2004 for his lifelong dedication to America and his service in World War II.

Related Topics:
Presidential Medal of Freedom - World War II

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In December of 2004, Dole had a hip-replacement operation, which required that he received blood thinners. One month after the surgery, while in his Watergate apartment, he felt light-headed and fell. Doctors told him that the blood thinners had caused internal bleeding and light-headedness.

Related Topics:
2004 - Watergate

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A quick trip to the hospital and a few stitches later, he was taken back home, but he felt ill, and had to be taken back to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where it was determined that he was bleeding inside his head. He spent 40 days at Walter Reed, and when he was released, his "good" arm, the left, was basically unusable. He told a reporter that he needed help to handle the simplest of tasks, since both of his arms are currently injured. He undergoes physical therapy for his left shoulder once a week, but doctors have told him that he may not regain total use of his left arm.

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Dole is currently special counsel at the Washington, D.C., lobbying firm of Aaron Woo. On 2005-04-12, Bob Dole released his biography One Soldier's Story: A Memoir (ISBN 0060763418), which talks of his World War II experiences and his battle to survive his war injuries.

Related Topics:
Lobbying - Aaron Woo - 2005-04-12 - World War II

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