THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 8, 1995 TAG: 9510050487
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Book Review
SOURCE: BY CHILES T.A. LARSON
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
SENATOR FOR SALE
An Unauthorized Biography of Senator Bob Dole
STANLEY G. HILTON
St. Martin's Press. 308 pp. $22.95.
As advertised, Senator for Sale is an unauthorized biography of presidential candidate Bob Dole, which prompts several questions: What will we learn about Dole's 35 years in Congress that we do not already know, courtesy of the news media, and who is Stanley G. Hilton and what's his angle?
``Despite the intention of our founding fathers that the American political system present true equality and `one man, one vote,' '' writes Hilton, who worked for Dole as a legal counsel and aide in 1979-80, ``the stark reality is that we currently have a system of `one dollar, one vote.' '' Though Hilton says he has no antipathy toward the senator as a person and has written this book to answer, ``Who is the real Bob Dole?,'' a less than flattering picture emerges:
``I was repeatedly struck by the banality and superficiality of his character and personality. . . . He is largely a special interest slot machine, a human pendulum dancing to the tune of the highest bidder.''
Dole's war record, humor, hard work and effectiveness as a leader in the Senate are positive characteristics profiled in some detail here, but they are offset by many negative incidences. Hilton recalls his most vivid impression of Dole as being ``how truly vindictive the man can be.'' He can be ``all sunshine one minute and a violent tornado the next.''
The key to the senator's makeup, according to Hilton, may be found in his World War II Army service. Dole was severely wounded on the Italian front during the closing weeks of the war, ``abandoned by his fellow soldiers, and left to die.'' He was fortunate to be spotted by an American soldier escorting a detail of German prisoners to the rear.
``Dole was still breathing but paralyzed (two of his vertebrae had been crushed and his right arm was a mangled, bloody mess).''
It took a number of months in Army hospitals and hard work on Dole's part for rehabilitation. He required someone to feed, dress and even assist him to go to the bathroom. Bitterness set in, says Hilton, and Dole ``embarked on a lifetime crusade for revenge against the loss of the use of his right arm.'' Dole's talent as a comedian, his quick wit and his sense of humor merely reflect ``his personality: raw, biting, cynical, terse and sardonic.''
Bob Dole first stepped onto the political stage in 1950 as a member of the Kansas legislature. Two years later he successfully ran for Russell County Attorney as a Republican. By 1960, through hard work and good fortune, he parlayed that post into a seat in the U.S. Congress. This same process carried him to the Senate in 1968, the year his mentor, Richard Nixon, was elected president. Chapter 9, ``Nixon's Doberman Pinscher,'' details their political partnership.
Dole's role in defeating the Clinton Health Care Reform Bill and his campaign against finance reform bills are highlighted; but Hilton sharply focuses on the senator's skill in crafting, supporting and persuading the Senate to pass obscure laws that resulted in tax breaks benefiting many of his prime campaign contributors. He singles out the massive amount of ``corporate welfare'' given by Congress to Dole's favorite campaign contributors, Archer-Daniels-Midland Corporation (ADM) and its chairman, Dwayne Andreas. (ADM makes 70 percent of all ethanol or gasohol produced in the country and receives massive tax credits.)
Summing up the pros and cons of what kind of president Bob Dole might make, Hilton offers the following: ``Bob Dole's ruthlessness, lust for power and intolerance for opposition can also be very useful presidential traits. An Oval Office occupied by political weaklings floundering around benefits few, a tough President Dole would at least be a `hands-on' president with a very personal agenda. Perhaps that is what the country needs. Perhaps that is what it really wants.'' The real danger, he notes, is Dole's lack of any ideological center.
Senator for Sale, unauthorized, taken with a grain of salt or with a grain of sugar, is unsettling . . . but not [necessarily surprising.] MEMO: Chiles T.A. Larson is a photojournalist who lives in Ivy, Va. by CNB