President Joe Biden hailed the late Sen. Bob Dole as a “giant of history” and a “patriot” during a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda where the body of the former senator is lying in state. Biden said Dole “belongs here, in this place, this temple to liberty and temple to possibility.” The president said of Dole, “He, too, was a giant of our history.”
President Joe Biden, a longtime friend of Dole , said the former Kansas Senator, presidential contender and World War II veteran, should have the final word as he read from his colleague of 25 years’ own plea for the country to come together and find common ground.
“Truth of the matter is, as divided as we are, the only way forward for democracy is unity — consensus — the only way,” Biden told those gathered. “We may follow his wisdom and his timeless truth and reach consensus on the basic fundamental principles we all agree on.”
The morning ceremony brought about 100 invited guests and congressional leaders as Dole’s casket, draped with the American flag, as they all sat under the Capitol dome. Dole, who served nearly 36 years in Congress, died Sunday at the age of 98.
He was a leader known for his caustic wit. He shaped tax and foreign policy and worked to help the disabled, enshrining protections against discrimination in employment, education and public services in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Dole won the Republican nomination in 1996, but was defeated when President Bill Clinton won a second term. He was also the 1976 GOP vice presidential candidate on the losing ticket with President Gerald Ford.
Throughout his political career, he carried the mark of war. Charging a German position in northern Italy in 1945, Dole was hit by a shell fragment that crushed two vertebrae and paralyzed his arms and legs. The young Army platoon leader spent three years recovering in a hospital and never regained use of his right hand.
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