Bob Dole: All or Nothing

Bruce Herschensohn, one of the last who opposed resignation, turned and said to no one in particular, "That's probably the real Nixon. It's a shame he couldn't have been like that more often."

That is from the eerie last pages of The Final Days, the controversial chronicle of Richard Nixon's demise. God knows if this actually happened considering that the book was written, for the most part, by that master dramatist, Bob Woodward, of Watergate/Washington Post/Deep Throat fame. Yet anyone who has seen video footage of Nixon's final farewell to his staff on the morning of his departure from the White House, can understand the sentiment reflected in this passage. For once in his life, the stiff, abrasive Nixon gave way to a gentler, kinder Nixon, to borrow a phrase. So it was deja vu when Bob Dole announced his resignation from the Senate - totally and completely - in order to spend his every waking hour pursuing the Holy Grail which has eluded him for so many years now....the Presidency - The White House - The Big Chair - The Whole Enchilada.

For once in his life, Bob Dole was human, too, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

He was emotional, yet never lost his composure as he did at Nixon's funeral. As Nixon himself said on the morning of August 9, 1974, in front of his staff, "it is a new beginning always." And this was one hell of a new beginning for Battling Bob; one of those high moments in the sport of politics that transcends party affiliation and leaves one relieved to be an American and have the opportunity to even witness such an event. These kinds of things don't happen too often in China, and they probably seldom happened in the days of Brezhnev. Dole was humbled (for a politician) and sounded, for a change, like he wanted to win for the sake of the American people, and not for himself.

It was also a brilliant strategic move; in considering what he must do to have a shot at winning this election, Dole broke free from the tainted chains of Newt Gingrich.

The tragedy here is that this brief seven minutes of some of the best political oration I've ever heard won't save Bob Dole was being beaten badly come November, as he is sent without grace and with no mercy into retirement. This country has already forgotten the Fighting Newt of a mere eighteen months ago; don't expect them to remember Battling Bob's Senate Resignation Speech, especially amid a fresh load of that infamous Dole rancor - which is sure to come - six months after the fact.