Bob Dole

Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole (born July 22 1923) is an attorney and retired United States Senator from Kansas from 1969–1996, serving part of that time as United States Senate Majority Leader, where he set a record as the longest-serving Republican leader. He was the Republican nominee in the 1996 U.S. Presidential election and the Republican vice presidential nominee in the 1976 U.S. Presidential election. Dole is special counsel at the Washington, D.C., law firm of Alston & Bird. In 2007, President George W. Bush appointed Dole as a co-chair of the commission to investigate problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, along with Donna Shalala. Dole was born in Russell, Kansas, the son of Bina M. (née Talbott) and Doran Ray Dole. His father ran a small creamery. During the Great Depression, which hit Kansas very hard, the Dole family moved into the basement of their home and rented out the rest of the house. As a boy, Dole took many odd jobs around Russell; he would later work as a soda... full article at wikipedia