A Campaign War Story Sheds Some Light

Bob Dole was looking relaxed in a front row window seat, at night with the overhead lights off, sipping some beverage and in shirt sleeves as an aide led me to him. It had been 14 hours since the candidate had boarded the chartered 727 in Washington. Now he was nearing San Francisco after campaigning in Southern California at a bomber parts plant and along the Mexican border, a ritualistic pilgrimage for politicians.

His was the first question. “How is the president?” Dole asked, referring to Ronald Reagan, whom I had covered and he had dealt closely with as a Senate leader. And it struck me as noteworthy that this was not mere small talk, but genuine concern for a man who struggles with Alzheimer’s--by a man reputed to have a hard edge.

Lately, Dole has been smoothing that edge by talking publicly of his prairie roots and his severe war wound. At the B-2 plant in Pico Rivera, he spent several minutes telling his now-familiar story to Northrup Grumman employees. Some eyes may have rolled initially, but everyone seemed to listen intently.

“There I was over in Italy on April 14, 1945, a young 2nd lieutenant. . . . Our job was to prevail and we were prevailing and I was leading a platoon and something happened and I got shot. And I spent the next 39 months in and out of hospitals, learning how to feed myself and go to the bathroom and walk and all those things we take for granted . . . And I tell you this so you’ll understand: I really believe I know what makes America great.”

I wondered why for most of his life he had refused to talk about this. “I thought it was a private matter,” he answered calmly. “I thought people might think the guy’s looking for pity.”

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So why now? “I’m trying to break down this barrier between those of us in politics and the real people . . . and their belief we’re just power hungry and insiders and we don’t care about them. We’ve never had any trouble in life, we just all ended up in Congress. Let ‘em know I’ve had a life, too.”

Is it working? “I think so. People tell me some have tears in their eyes. I don’t do it for that reason, but . . .”

Dole has a reputation for being temperamental. And I’ve long thought that most people would be a bit cranky if it took them an extra hour to get dressed every morning because, among other things, they had to use a buttonhook to fasten a shirt. I asked Dole whether the disability had changed his personality.

“A little bit,” he said, but not in the way I had envisioned. “It’s made me more sensitive. I can spot somebody with a disability now, I’d say, 100 yards away. It’s like your little antenna goes up . . . I was a strong athlete. Maybe I just ignored people with disabilities, thought ‘Isn’t that too bad!’ If it ever happens to you, then you know it’s a real problem . . .

“So I’ve always thought it was probably a plus. You can’t do anything about it, you might as well learn to live with it. And I think it makes you stronger in many ways. You understand not everybody’s perfect.”

He denies being temperamental. “I really don’t have much of a temper,” he insisted. “I don’t know where that came from. I don’t throw things or use four-letter words. Never have . . . I don’t run around with a chip on my shoulder.”

What any of this has to do with being president is the following: There may be many reasons to oppose Dole on philosophy, depending on your view, but it’s hard to fault the man on character.

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I also asked Dole the usual questions:

Where would he lead the country? “On the road to a balanced budget.” Also: “Make the tax system fairer, simpler, flatter, whatever . . . Send some power back to the states . . . America has to provide leadership. The [Clinton campaign] slogan was ‘It’s the economy stupid.’ Well, it’s not only the economy, it’s everything else that happens when you’re president.”

The GOP’s anti-abortion plank? “We will have an abortion plank. What it’s going to say, I don’t know . . . I’d rather dwell on issues that bring the party together, not ones that divide us.”

A running mate? “I’m not really considering it at all.”

Just tweaking Gov. Pete Wilson when he mentioned Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren as a possible veep? “Oh, maybe a little. But Dan’s a good guy. He’s a good conservative, well respected.”

Committed to running all-out in California? “I don’t think you know . . . Our present plan is full speed ahead . . . Right now, we’ve got California in about a tossup column, leaning Clinton. But I don’t think he has any grip on it. . . . We’ll take a hard look at all the states.”

Here’s a hard look at history: No Republican has won the presidency without carrying California since James A. Garfield in 1880. Dole may want to take many flights out here.