Dole Rolls to Nomination; GOP Sings Praises of ‘Quiet Hero’

Summoning “a quiet hero” to “answer his country’s call again,” the Republican Party Wednesday night bestowed on Bob Dole the presidential nomination he has sought for 16 years and anointed Jack Kemp as his running mate.

In an exuberant session marked by fireworks shown on a large video screen, a talk-show-style performance by the nominee’s wife, Elizabeth Hanford Dole, intermittent denunciations of President Clinton and an ethnically diverse speaker’s list that at times appeared drawn from a Benetton ad, Dole was formally nominated at 9:07 p.m. PDT, as his native state of Kansas cast the deciding ballots that put him over the top.

Just before the roll call arrived at Kansas, Dole, watching the proceedings on TV in his hotel suite with Kemp and others, looked up and said, “This is starting to get exciting.”

As Kansas Gov. Bill Graves gave his introductory remarks, Dole licked his lips. Then as the roll call finally gave him the nomination, he exclaimed, “All right! All right!” He then hugged his wife, shook hands with his running mate, hugged Kemp’s wife, Joanne, and said, “We got our win.” The crowd of friends and aides in the room chanted, “Go Bob Dole.”

The traditional roll-call ballot, with its florid state boosterism and pitches for obscure local politicians, finally carried Dole to the pinnacle of the party that denied him its nomination in bitter primary defeats in 1980 and 1988. The vote sent him off on his crusade to overtake Clinton’s still-formidable, albeit contracting, lead in the polls.

For Kemp, the evening marked an even more remarkable resurrection--a return to center stage after what he had described only months ago as a period of exile in the political “wilderness.”

In nominating Dole, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) described him as a “modest man who does his duty without complaint or expectation of praise.” McCain declared: “We nominate Bob Dole for president because he is a man of honor, a man of firm purpose and deep commitment to his country’s cause.”

Completing an arduous march that nearly derailed last February when he ran poorly in the Iowa caucuses and finished second in the New Hampshire primary, Dole measured his perseverance Wednesday night in support from 1,928 of the convention’s delegates. Although former rival Patrick J. Buchanan earlier in the day released his delegates to support Dole, 47 still voted for the conservative commentator; 4 voters were scattered among others and one delegate abstained.

After the roll call ended, the convention adopted the traditional motion to make Dole’s nomination unanimous.

Placing Kemp’s name in nomination as vice president, New York Gov. George Pataki described the former Cabinet secretary as a man who offers “growth . . . opportunity . . . and a better America for everyone from the barrios to the boroughs.”

Kemp’s nomination was approved by acclamation.

Though Wednesday’s session unfolded with smooth precision, preparations for tonight’s climactic session appeared much less settled. Sources close to the Dole campaign said the candidate “hated” the latest draft of his acceptance speech. They differed on how thoroughly he had reworked it--one said Dole “shredded” the draft, while others said he had ordered more modest “polishing to get him closer to his comfort level.”

Speech Changes

Campaign officials did confirm that speech writer and novelist Mark Helprin, who had written Dole’s highly touted Senate farewell speech in June and was working on the acceptance speech, had left town.

Kemp faced substantial turbulence Wednesday as well, as Democrats accused him of abandoning his principles for a spot on the ticket. In an interview Tuesday with The Times, Kemp reversed his opposition to expelling the children of illegal immigrants from public schools, and endorsed a California ballot initiative to eliminate state affirmative action programs after earlier declaring that such action would be premature. In both instances, Kemp’s new positions brought him into concert with Dole and the dominant conservative views in his party.

“It’s sad indeed when you watch a person of conviction reverse field,” said Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), the Democratic Party chairman, previewing a theme the opposition is sure to highlight in the campaign to come. “Four days after becoming the vice presidential choice, he now reverses his stand on two very important issues.”

Though careful not to criticize the vice presidential nominee, former Education Secretary William J. Bennett--who joined with Kemp in an October 1994, letter denouncing the expulsion of the children of illegal immigrants--split with his longtime ally on the issue. On Tuesday, Bennett said that unlike Kemp he saw “no reason to change my position.”

“I hold to the same view until I see further evidence,” he said.

While the controversies over Kemp’s policy reversals and Dole’s speech swirled outside the hall, inside the convention center the GOP continued its unstinting efforts to present a diverse face to the public. In a convention that already has seen House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) praising beach volleyball as a testament to freedom, Republicans welcomed to the stage Wednesday an eclectic assortment of speakers that included a disabled Vietnam veteran; a former Miss America; a union member; a delegation of Olympic medal winners--and, almost incidentally, an assortment of politicians.

A group of video clips of Republicans who ran in GOP primaries this year was aired, but the one featuring Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), which had been scheduled to be shown, was not.

Defending Congress

Conservative speakers enjoyed a higher profile than during the convention’s first two nights, although most of them appeared before network television coverage began. Just after convening, the convention heard a spirited defense of the GOP Congress--which had received relatively little attention during the first two nights--from two freshman representatives, George Radanovich of Mariposa, Calif., and Sue Myrick of North Carolina.

Later, former Vice President Dan Quayle, joined by Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed and 1996 GOP presidential candidate Alan Keyes (both appearing via videotape), struck socially conservative themes. Quayle condemned Clinton for vetoing the recent GOP legislation to ban the type of late-term abortions that opponents call “partial-birth” procedures. But the only speaker to specifically refer to the “right to life”--the rallying cry of groups opposed to legalized abortion--was Steven McDonald, a New York City police officer in a wheelchair, who declared at the end of a moving speech: “as physically challenged as I am, so too is our country morally challenged.”

Afterward, former U.N. Ambassador Jeane J. Kirkpatrick--whose biting “San Francisco Democrats” speech was a high point of the 1984 GOP convention in Dallas--and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, accused Clinton of undermining the nation’s defenses and squandering its prestige abroad.

The session ended with a prayer by the Rev. Jerry Falwell, head of the Moral Majority.

The evening’s dominant thrust was to paint a compelling personal picture of the party’s 73-year-old nominee--a man his aides say Americans recognize but do not truly know. From Dole’s daughter, Robin, to his wife to McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, and freshman Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), speakers portrayed Dole as a man who was both firm and compassionate, principled and tolerant.

Watching McCain’s address, Dole himself was near tears when his former Senate colleague spoke of learning years after his captivity that Dole had worn a POW bracelet with his name on it.

In a spare address delivered with controlled force, McCain lauded Dole as a “decent, honorable man” who offers leadership, not “sound bites and showmanship.”

On the Floor

In a moment oddly appropriate to a convention hall constructed to resemble a television studio, Elizabeth Dole walked through the crowd with a wireless (and then a hand-held) microphone, introducing people who played key roles in her husband’s life.

Like a director who slips an allusion to a famous predecessor into a film, the Doles at one point reprised the most memorable moment from the GOP’s 1984 convention, as Elizabeth turned and waved at her husband’s image as it suddenly appeared on the huge television screens behind her--much as Nancy Reagan waved to Ronald Reagan at the gathering in Dallas.

And much as Democrats four years ago sought to warm voters to Clinton by emphasizing his rise from humble roots “in a place called Hope,” Elizabeth Dole recalled the years when Bob Dole’s family moved into the basement of their home during the Dust Bowl, renting out the floor above to make ends meet.

“Certainly, Bob has known the struggle to make ends meet,” she said. “He could not have gotten a college education if it were not for the GI Bill. And so he’s going to protect and preserve and strengthen that safety net for those who need it.”

Though there was relatively little direct criticism of Clinton--in contrast to Tuesday night’s alternately caustic and witty lancing of the president--the Republican effort to establish an implicit comparison between the two men underscored a central theme the party hopes to ride in the fall election. “[Dole] is a man every American will be proud to call our president,” said outgoing Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum of Kansas.

Quayle sharpened the point, redirecting Democrat Lloyd Bentsen’s famous jab against him when they debated in 1988 as vice presidential candidates. “When it comes to leadership, when it comes to vision and when it comes to character, I know Bob Dole; Bob Dole is a friend of mine; and Bill Clinton, you’re no Bob Dole,” Quayle said, recalling Bentsen’s unfavorable comparison of him to President Kennedy.

The GOP could take heart from various polls showing the convention so far has given them an expected “bounce” in the polls, cutting Clinton’s once-sizable lead to a more manageable 10 percentage points or so. But the Democrats likely can look forward to their own bounce when they convene in Chicago later this month to renominate Clinton.

Campaign Stops

During the day, Dole and Kemp marked time toward their nominations with campaign appearances that underscored their contrasting styles--the one almost phlegmatic, the other effusive and prolix.

Dole celebrated the 51st anniversary of V-J Day on Wednesday by placing a wreath on the San Diego peace monument at Balboa Park. In a voice sometimes shaking with emotion, Dole said that “I see a lot of congressional Medals of Honor here today. That’s really what America’s all about, someone who’s willing to risk their lives or give their lives or come back not a whole person anymore, because they cared so much for their fellow man. . . .”

Kemp’s appearance Wednesday was also emotional--though more exuberant and even frenetic. Bounding from one side of the podium to another, gesturing frequently to friends in the audience, Kemp revved up about 500 California delegates in an animated 35-minute speech Wednesday morning in a crowded San Diego ballroom.

Quoting Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and the Declaration of Independence; recounting his conversation on the convention floor Tuesday night with former professional football star Jim Brown; nearly breaking down in tears himself, Kemp unleashed a torrent of words on taxes, immigration, affirmative action and the party’s history.

Kemp drew one of his most passionate responses when he said he wanted to restore the American dream for everyone who is in the country “legally.” Californians, Kemp said, are entitled to “a sovereign border.”

Kemp did not specifically mention the California ballot initiative to repeal state affirmative action programs, which he endorsed in a series of interviews earlier this week. But he called for replacing programs of racial preference with an assortment of economic incentives for the poor that he has long championed.

Though a California native, Kemp’s relations with Republicans here nose-dived in the fall of 1994, when he denounced Proposition 187, the ballot initiative to deny virtually all public services to illegal immigrants.

But leading California Republicans pronounced themselves pleased Wednesday with Kemp’s sudden change of heart on the issue.

State Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove) said, “I always felt he had to clarify those points. I always felt he didn’t understand some of the public frustration regarding illegal immigration.”

But what Pringle described as clarification Democrats denounced as capitulation to political expediency. “They are putting Kemp out as the moderate person . . . but once they pick him, he adopts the very positions that made them extreme in the first place,” charged White House senior advisor George Stephanopoulos.

Times staff writers Sara Fritz, Maria L. La Ganga and Bill Stall contributed to this story.