Editing Bob Dole (section)

=== 1996 presidential campaign ===
{{Main|Bob Dole 1996 presidential campaign}}
{{Further|1996 Republican Party presidential primaries|1996 United States presidential election}}

Despite the 1994 elections, President Clinton's popularity soared due to a booming economy and public opinion polls supporting him in the 1995 budget shutdown. As a result, Clinton and Vice President [[Al Gore]] faced no serious opposition in the Democratic primaries.<ref name="oregonlive.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2016/08/bob_dole_backs_donald_trump_bu.html|title=Bob Dole backs Donald Trump, but 20 years ago his campaign rejected embryonic Trumpism|first=Douglas |last=Perry |date=August 25, 2016|website=The Oregonian}}</ref> A few months before his death in April 1994, [[Richard Nixon]] warned Dole, "If the economy's good, you're not going to beat Clinton."<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bob-dole-on-life-after-losing-the-1996-presidential-election/2012/09/28/eaef4102-f78e-11e1-8398-0327ab83ab91_story.html|title=Bob Dole on life after losing the 1996 presidential election|first=Bob|last=Dole|date=September 30, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Dole was the early front runner for the GOP nomination in the [[1996 United States presidential election|1996 presidential race]]. At least eight candidates ran for the nomination. Dole was expected to win the nomination against underdog candidates such as the more conservative Senator [[Phil Gramm]] of Texas and more moderate Senator [[Arlen Specter]] of Pennsylvania. [[Pat Buchanan]] upset Dole in the early New Hampshire primary, however, with Dole finishing second and former Tennessee governor [[Lamar Alexander]] finishing third. Speechwriter Kerry Tymchuk observed, "Dole was on the ropes because he wasn't conservative enough."<ref name="oregonlive.com"/>

Dole eventually won the nomination, becoming the oldest first-time presidential nominee at the age of 73 years, 1 month (President Ronald Reagan was 73 years, 6 months in 1984, for his second presidential nomination). If elected, he would have become the oldest president to take office and the first Kansas native to become president (as [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] was born in Texas). Dole found the initial draft of the nomination acceptance speech written by [[Mark Helprin]] too hardline, so Kerry Tymchuk, who was part of the "'Let Dole be Dole' crowd", revised the speech to cover the themes of honor, decency, and straight talk. It included the following line, a gibe at the all-or-nothing rookie Republicans who had ridden the 1994 midterm GOP wave into Congress: "In politics honorable compromise is no sin. It is what protects us from absolutism and intolerance"'.<ref name="oregonlive.com"/>

In his acceptance speech, Dole stated, "Let me be the bridge to an America that only the unknowing call myth. Let me be the bridge to a time of tranquility, faith, and confidence in action,"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portlandpublishinghouse.com/bridge.html|title=1996 Bob Dole acceptance speech|publisher=Portlandpublishinghouse.com|access-date=June 17, 2010}}</ref> to which incumbent president Bill Clinton responded, "We do not need to build a bridge to the past, we need to build a bridge to the future."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/31/opinion/mr-clinton-s-bridge.html|title=Mr. Clinton's Bridge|work=The New York Times|date=August 31, 1996|access-date=June 17, 2010}}</ref>

As told in the Doles' joint biography, ''Unlimited Partners'', speechwriter and biographer Kerry Tymchuk wrote "that he was going to make a statement. He was going to risk it all for the White House. He knew his time as leader was over. It would have been tough to come back [to the Senate as leader] if he lost in November. He knew it was time to move up or move out."<ref name="oregonlive.com"/>

[[File:Dole-Kemp Rally at UB 1, 1996.jpg|left|thumb|Dole–Kemp campaign rally at the [[State University of New York at Buffalo]]]]

Dole promised a 15% across-the-board reduction in [[income tax]] rates and made former U.S. representative and [[supply-side economics]] advocate [[Jack Kemp]] of [[New York (state)|New York]] his running mate for vice president. Dole found himself criticized from both the left and the right within the Republican Party over the convention platform, one of the major issues being the inclusion of the [[Human Life Amendment]]. Clinton framed the narrative against Dole early, painting him as a mere clone of unpopular then-House Speaker [[Newt Gingrich]], warning America that Dole would work in concert with the Republican Congress to slash popular social programs, like [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] and [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]], dubbed by Clinton as "Dole-Gingrich".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/07/us/clinton-and-dole-face-to-face-spar-over-medicare-and-taxes.html|work=The New York Times|title=Clinton And Dole, Face To Face, Spar Over Medicare And Taxes|first=Richard L.|last=Berke|date=October 7, 1996|access-date=April 26, 2010}}</ref> Dole's tax-cut plan found itself under attack from the White House, who said it would "blow a hole in the deficit".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/1996/36/b34915.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970628211536/http://www.businessweek.com/1996/36/b34915.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 28, 1997|title=Medicare, taxes and Dole: a talk with the president|work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek|date=June 14, 1997|access-date=June 17, 2010}}</ref>

During the infancy of the Internet, Dole-Kemp was the first presidential campaign to have a website, which was set up by Arizona State college students Rob Kubasko and Vince Salvato, and edged out Clinton-Gore.<ref name="oregonlive.com"/> The Dole-Kemp presidential campaign page is still live as of 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/02/1996/470106/|title=The First Campaign Websites|last=LaFrance|first=Adrienne|date=February 19, 2016|website=The Atlantic|language=en-US|access-date=February 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dolekemp96.org/|title=Dole Kemp 96 Web Site|website=dolekemp96.org}}</ref>

Concerns over Dole's age and lagging campaign were exemplified by an incident on September 18, 1996. At a rally in [[Chico, California]], he was reaching down to shake the hand of a supporter, when the railing on the stage gave way and he tumbled {{convert|4|ft|abbr=on}}. While only slightly injured in the fall, "the televised image of his painful grimace underscored the age difference between him and Clinton" and proved an ominous sign for Republican hopes of retaking the [[White House]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1996/09/19/dole-falls-off-stage-at-rally-bounces-back/|title=Dole Falls Off Stage At Rally, Bounces Back|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=September 18, 1996|access-date=November 22, 2016|archive-date=February 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201013638/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1996-09-19/news/9609181328_1_bob-dole-grand-canyon-slogan|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11576072/Thought-Ed-Milibands-stumble-was-bad-These-politicians-had-much-worse-falls.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/general-election-2015/politics-blog/11576072/Thought-Ed-Milibands-stumble-was-bad-These-politicians-had-much-worse-falls.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Thought Ed Miliband's stumble was bad? These politicians had much worse falls|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=April 30, 2015|access-date=July 23, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

During the latter half of October 1996, Dole made a campaign appearance with [[Heather Whitestone]], the first deaf [[Miss America]], where both of them signed "I love you" to the crowd. Around that time, Dole and his advisers knew that they would lose the election, but in the last four days of the campaign they went on the "96-hour victory tour" to help Republican House candidates.<ref name="auto1">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/05/politics/crowley-losing-side/index.html|title=Crowley: It's the losing campaigns I remember most|publisher=CNN|date=November 5, 2012}}</ref>

Dole lost, as pundits had long expected, to incumbent President Bill Clinton in the 1996 election. Clinton won in a 379–159 [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]] landslide, capturing 49.2% of the vote against Dole's 40.7% and [[Ross Perot]]'s 8.4%.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/elections/natl.exit.poll/index1.html|publisher=CNN|access-date=April 26, 2010|title=Presidential Election Exit Poll Results – Part 1}}</ref> As Nixon had predicted, Clinton was able to ride a booming economy to a second term in the White House.<ref name="auto"/>

[[File:1996prescountymap2.PNG|thumb|right|Election results by county
{{legend|#1560BD|[[Bill Clinton]]|border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}
{{legend|#E32636|Bob Dole|border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}]]

Dole was the first losing vice presidential nominee to be nominated since [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. Dole's loss makes him the only person to lose elections for both the vice presidency and the presidency in the history of the United States.<ref name="LEIP">{{cite web |title=United States Presidential Election Results |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/index.html |website=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |access-date=16 September 2018}}</ref> Dole was the last World War II veteran to have been the presidential nominee of a major party.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schieffer |first1=Bob |title=Bob Dole, World War II veteran, senator and presidential nominee, has died at 98 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bob-dole-dies-age-98-senator-presidential-nominee/ |publisher=CBS News |access-date=December 5, 2021 |date=December 5, 2021}}</ref>  During the campaign, Dole's advanced age was brought up, with critics stating that he was too old to be president.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Genovese |first1=Michael A. |title=PERSPECTIVES ON CAMPAIGN '96 : Is Dole Too Old to Be President? |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-05-13-me-3600-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=December 5, 2021 |date=May 13, 1996}}</ref>

In his election night concession speech, Dole remarked "I was thinking on the way down in the elevator – tomorrow will be the first time in my life I don't have anything to do."<ref name="auto1"/> Dole later wrote "I was wrong. Seventy-two hours after conceding the election, I was swapping wisecracks with [[David Letterman]] on his late-night show."<ref name="auto"/> During the immediate aftermath of his 1996 loss to Clinton, Dole recalled that his critics thought that "I didn't loosen up enough, I didn't show enough leg. They said I was too serious . . . It takes several months to stop fretting about it and move on. But I did." Dole remarked that his decisive defeat to Clinton made it easier for him to be "magnanimous". On his decision to leave politics for good after the 1996 presidential election campaign, despite his guaranteed stature as a former Senate leader, Dole stated, "People were urging [me] to be a hatchet man against Clinton for the next four years. I couldn't see the point. Maybe after all those partisan fights, you look for more friendships. One of the nice things I've discovered is that when you're out of politics, you have more credibility with the other side . . . And you're out among all kinds of people, and that just doesn't happen often for an ex-president; he doesn't have the same freedom. So it hasn't been all bad."<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27100-2005Feb15.html|title=What Might Have Been|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 20, 2005}}</ref>