The Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College is saddened by the death of Senator Bob Dole. A war hero and statesman who served 27 years in the Senate, Dole has been noted for his lifetime of service and pragmatic conservatism. A veteran of the Second World War, he was the last of his generation to be nominated for president by a major party.
“Even though Dole was a tenacious partisan—an ardent supporter of the Republican Party through thick and thin—he knew how to work across the aisle and get things done,” wrote EI Expert-in-Residence Susan Eisenhower on her blog. “For all his acerbic wit, he had an empathy for others and their struggles. He was also a man who never forgot where he came from, and what this country did for him. We remember well what he did for us.”
In 1995, our predecessor the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute and Gettysburg College honored Senator Dole with the Eisenhower Leadership Award. At the event, Dole recalled looking up to Dwight Eisenhower as a fellow Kansan who believed in the wisdom of the American public.
“As a legacy organization of President Eisenhower, the Institute is especially appreciative of his service as Chairman of the Dwight David Eisenhower Centennial Commission from 1988-1990 and as a commissioner of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission,” said EI Executive Director Tracie Potts. “We send our condolences to the Dole family.”