“Jeb has the proven leadership skills and executive experience needed to fix the problems facing our country…”
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Dole has a storied relationship with the Bush family. Relations between the two men improved during the elder Bush’s presidency.
In 1976, Dole was added to President Gerald Ford’s ticket, a coveted spot that the senior Bush reportedly wanted.
Dole and Bush both competed in the Republican primary.
‘I’ll try and be gracious but he had been a no good son of a b***h about me, hitting me at every turn, bitter, jealous, and class-conscious hatred, ‘ Bush continued. He’s a great American and a genuinely nice man. I had the privilege of meeting him and shaking that left hand when I worked on Capitol Hill in the eighties.
In 1992, sitting President Bush became a one-term president thanks to the upstart from Arkansas. In Dole’s case, Bill Clinton in 1996 – didn’t even make it close.
It was Hillary Clinton that Dole focused today on defeating.
He cited Bush’s “conservative reform agenda and forward looking vision” on economic growth, combatting the Islamic State group and veterans’ issues, which he said were better than Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s. “I’m a huge Bob Dole fan”, Bush said in brief remarks with reporters after devoting his first stop to honoring the tables of veterans that followed a quick turnaround with little sleep from the overtime debate in Milwaukee Tuesday night. The association of Dole with Bush serves to emphasize the fact that Jeb can’t escape, because of his last name: he is part of the past that GOP voters are trying to leave behind.
Bob Dole will serve as veterans’ chairman for the Jeb Bush campaign.
Dole, who was badly wounded in World War II, has received numerous medals and honors for his service.
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Dole told NBC that he likes “nearly all” of the candidates, but opted for a contender with experience.
