THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996 TAG: 9605160405
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long : 139 lines
In an extraordinary, emotional gamble, Bob Dole said Wednesday he was quitting the Senate after 27 years to challenge President Clinton full time, ``with nothing to fall back on but the judgment of the people.''
Stunning the White House and most of his Republican colleagues, Dole said he had decided that ``as the campaign begins in earnest, it is my obligation - to the Senate and to the people of America - to leave behind all the trappings of power, all comfort, all security.''
Choking back tears, the 72-year-old Dole said: ``The very least a presidential candidate owes America is his full attention, everything he can give, everything he has. And that is what America shall receive from me.''
Dole said he would resign his Senate seat and the powerful post of majority leader by June 11.
The decision shocked both Republicans and Democrats who have grown accustomed to seeing Dole on the Senate floor. But the Senate proved to be a millstone in his presidential campaign and Dole's move was designed to jump-start his lagging candidacy.
Indeed, Dole's brief address was one of his most eloquent in memory, raising hopes of supporters that now Dole may find his voice as a presidential candidate.
As he fought back tears, Dole spoke about facing the campaign without the trappings of high office, with just the kind of determination that helped him overcome crippling World War II injuries.
``I will stand before you without office or authority, a private citizen, a Kansan, an American, just a man'' he said.
``But I will be the same man I was when I walked into this room, the same man I was yesterday . . . and a long time ago, when I rose from my hospital bed and was permitted by the grace of God to walk again in the world.
``I trust in the hard way, for little has come to me except the hard way.''
Dole's resignation ends an extraordinary legislative career that encompassed eight years in the House and 27 years in the Senate. He has served 11 years as Republican leader, the longest tenure in history. Dole is the first Senate majority leader to resign his post since Lyndon B. Johnson was elected vice president in 1960, according to the Senate historian's office.
Dole had been considering resigning for several weeks, all but deciding during a vacation in Florida last month, according to a source close to the campaign. But he kept the decision to himself and a few others, including Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour.
When word began to leak out Tuesday night that Dole planned to relinquish his duties as majority leader, campaign aides did little to put out the full story, in part because Dole wanted maximum surprise from Wednesday's announcement. Among those who were not informed in advance was House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.
In a five-minute telephone conversation described as ``very warm, very personal,'' Dole informed Clinton on Wednesday of his decision.
``You succeeded in surprising us all,'' Clinton told Dole, according to White House spokesman Mike McCurry.
Dole told his Republican colleagues during a closed-door meeting in a ceremonial room on the second floor of the Capitol, near the Senate chamber.
``It was very emotional,'' said Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa. ``He got up and told us what was in his heart. There were tears from everybody. Connie Mack and Alan Simpson got up and spoke and Dole was very moved. It moved him a lot.''
Later, his public announcement was unusually poetic for the terse Dole, who read it from a teleprompter. Aides said Dole wrote it himself with ``a friend'' but steadfastly refused to identify the friend.
Dole made his public announcement with his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Robin, by his side. He hugged each after his speech.
But his political family came, too, as dozens of senators and House members, Republican and Democrat, crowded into the room to hear his decision.
Sen. John W. Warner of Virginia, whose own uphill battle for re-election to the Senate was endorsed by longtime ally Dole this month, called the majority leader's decision ``a painful moment for all of us who serve with him.'' Warner said Dole ``put duty, honor, country first,'' and by resigning demonstrated ``commitment to his candidacy and his desire to lead.''
Despite the emotion over Dole's departure from the Senate, Republican officials around the country expressed elation at his decision to campaign full time for the presidency.
Barbour, in a statement, said Dole's decision ``signals that this election is of enormous consequence to the American people'' and that the Republican nominee knows the party deserves ``a full-time voice in the presidential debate.''
Analysts said it would allow Dole to distance himself from a Senate job that demanded too much time and bogged him down in legislative fights. In the end, his was the face of a largely unpopular institution.
But many Republicans said Dole's most difficult challenge still lies ahead.
``Symbolically he had to find a way to give all his attention to the presidential campaign, but it's got to be backed up with evidence that he is delivering the message - and that he has a message to deliver,'' a Republican outside of Washington said Wednesday.
Dole's campaign team said his announcement also signaled the beginning of an intensive period of campaigning around the country.
One official said Dole has plans for visits to 17 cities between now and July 4, including two multi-day trips to California. Those are intended to be a sign of the campaign's commitment to contest the nation's biggest state.
``Our campaign will leave Washington behind to look to America,'' Dole said.
Dole did little to understate the task before him. Clinton retains a healthy lead in public opinion polls - around 15 points in most recent surveys - and Dole has yet to demonstrate his talents as a campaigner, despite three previous campaigns for national office.
``We have a hard task ahead,'' Dole said. ``We are gaining, but still behind in the polls. The press does not lean our way and many Beltway pundits confidently dismiss my chances of victory.''
Clinton's re-election campaign issued a statement Wednesday trying to characterize Dole as driven purely by politics and a man who had just made the interests of the country secondary. Ann Lewis, deputy campaign manager for Clinton-Gore, said in a statement, ``President Clinton has said his first responsibility is to govern. . . . Faced with a choice between the work of the Senate and his own political campaign, Bob Dole chose campaigning.''
But Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., fired back at the Democrats with an accusation of his own. ``Bob Dole has shaken the groundless overconfidence in the Clinton White House that the president could win re-election by simply keeping Washington in gridlock,'' he said in a statement. ``Today the president learned he is in the biggest fight of his political life. MEMO: This story was compiled from reports by The Associated Press,
Knight-Ridder News Service, The Washington Post and staff writer Dale
Eisman. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A hug from his wife, Elizabeth, was just one of the emotional
responses to Dole's decision.
Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bob Dole's decision to leave the Senate after 27 years came as a
surprise to nearly everyone - including House Speaker Newt Gingrich,
who listens in the background as the Senate majority leader makes
his retirement announcement official.
KEYWORDS: PRESIDENTIAL RACE CANDIDATES REPUBLICAN PARTY
U.S. SENATE BOB DOLE by CNB