Dole-Mondale debate excerpt

Bob Dole says the issue of Ford's pardon of Nixon isn't any more relevant than past wars, for which he blames the Democrats.

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  News & Politics

[cicio428]

Dole is a great American. However this is one of the bitterest comments ever made in a debate! Can someone post Mondale's response?

[lawford83]

This is the only portion of the debate I have. According to the book "Presidential Debates," Mondale responded sharply: "I think Senator Dole has richly earned his reputation as a hatchet man tonight."

[surfingthechaos]

Actually it was fought with greatest intensity by LBJ who was a Democrat. LBJ was the one who milked the draft policy as much as a president legally could. People were burning there draft cards in protest of LBJ not Nixon. Nice UN-originality by the way with your repetition of how we don't need "divisive comments" in this country. First of all that opinion was worthless the first time it was spouted. It certainly wasn't necessary for you to mention it again for the seventh time.

[nonplayerzealot4]

@102LBC Good point.

[Samuel Wilson]

've just posted the full debate, and his reply begins at 1:04:55. It is quite good.

[stanleykubrick98]

His response is so irrelevant to the question.

[Kram6298]

Really? What was the objective in Vietnam?

[Kram6298]

Context is important. In 1976 the Democrats were in the full flower of their anti-war, peace at any cost, stage. They routinely portrayed Republicans as warmongers. That is the context of Dole's statement, implying that it was Democrats, not the GOP who got the country into wars. Also it is totally ignored that he was comparing making an issue of "Democrat wars" with making an issue of the pardon of Nixon. His contention was that neither was a "very good issue" to emphasize in the 1976 race.

[Fugg Diss]

Say what you will about these "Democrat Wars," at least these wars had OBJECTIVES.

[marlette782]

When you mentioned japan are you talking about japan today or the japan of 1976? That's when this debate happened. It may be true japan views the republicans that way today, but in 1976 it may have been the democrats they viewed that way.

[Toni Acock]

If these were all democrat wars...how is it that the military industrial complex(republicans) made all the money? Also why do other countries like Japan equate American flag waving, aggression and imperialism with the Republican Party. Pres. Dwight Eisenhour(sp) warned us about the military industrial complex way back in the 1950's. Hmmmnnnnn.....It finally came to pass?

[Lab356]

I think it's a little bit more complex than that. Germany's economic troubles in the 1930s are as much to blame for the rise of Hitler as the supposedly harsh treaty of Versailles.

[Tiggersalt79]

Talk about changing the subject!

[Tiggersalt79]

Mondale gives his response: "I think Senator Dole has richly earned his reputation as a hatchet man tonight, by implying and stating that World War II and the Korean War were Democratic wars. Does he really mean to suggest to the American people that there was a partisan difference over our involvement in the war to fight Nazi Germany? I don't think any reasonable American would accept that." Apparently Dole had used the line more successfully in stump speeches!