Former GOP Presidential Candidate Bob Dole Dead at 98
Nearly ten months after he revealed his fight with Stage 4 lung cancer, longtime senator and 1996 Republican Presidential nominee Bob Dole died Sunday morning at the age of 98.
Elizabeth Dole, a former U.S. Senator herself who was elected out of North Carolina, is the widow of Bob Dole. She is 85. Bob Dole, who was elected out of Kansas, served in the U.S. Senate for 36 years. In the mid-90's, he won the Republican bid for President but was unsuccessful in defeating the incumbent Bill Clinton. Then, months after the election, Clinton presented Dole with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Dole was a World War II veteran who helped raise nearly $200 million for a WWII memorial on the National Mall, according to Fox News. President Joe Biden, who served with Dole in the U.S. Senate, praised him for his "legacy of decency, dignity, good humor, and patriotism."
A statement was released by former President George W. Bush which read:
He defended them (the finest in American values) in uniform during World War II. He advanced them in the United States Senate. And he lived them out as a father, husband, and friend. Our entire family benefited from that friendship, including my father. I will always remember Bob’s salute to my late dad at the Capitol, and now we Bushes salute Bob and give thanks for his life of principled service. Laura and I send our heartfelt condolences to Elizabeth and join our fellow citizens in prayer for her comfort."
Flags at the U.S. Capitol are currently flying half-staff in Dole's honor.
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