Bob Dole died Sunday. He was 98 and battled lung cancer to the end.
Dole has a lot of “onlys” to his name. He was the only American who lost a bid to be vice President (under Jerry Ford) and lost his own presidential bid, in 1996.
Most who knew him would call him a statesman. That label hardly fits anyone in Washington, D.C., these days. In fact, the 21st century has produced few statesmen in all levels of American government. Men and women in public office who do nothing but vilify the opposition and throw out conspiracy theories pandering to the masses are not statesmen.
