Bob Dole on Larry King Live 1988 Presidential Campaign

In 1988 Dole made a more serious presidential bid, formally announcing his candidacy in Russell, Kansas, on November 9, 1987. At the ceremony, Dole was presented with the cigar box that had been used to collect donations for his war-related medical expenses. The box contained $100,000 in campaign donations. Bob Dole started out strong by solidly defeating then-Vice President George H.W. Bush in the Iowa caucus—Bush finished third, behind television evangelist Pat Robertson. However, Bush recovered in time to defeat Dole in the New Hampshire primary a week later. The New Hampshire contest between the two was particularly bitter although they differed little on the issues. After the returns had come in on the night of that primary, Bob Dole appeared to lose his temper in a television interview. Dole was interviewed live in New Hampshire on NBC by Tom Brokaw, who was in the NBC studio in New York. It happened that Bush was right next to Brokaw in the studio. Brokaw asked Bush if he had anything to say to Dole. Bush responded, "No, just wish him well and meet again in the south." Dole, apparently not expecting to see Bush, when asked the same question about the Vice President said, "Yeah, stop lying about my record", largely in response to a very tough New Hampshire Bush commercial which accused Dole of "straddling" on taxes. This remark prompted some members of the media to perceive him as angry about the loss, contributing to his "hatchet man" image earned during his tenure as RNC chairman and the '76 campaign.

Category:

News & Politics

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• Bob
• Dole
• Larry
• King
• 1988
• Presidential
• Campaign
• Politics
• George
• H.W.
• Bush

[RichardMNixon]

Oh man, Larry King looks like a living human being.

[MrMatthiasSchneider]

@fran9860 That's kind of a cheap shot... didn't he lose the use of that arm while fighting the Nazis? I'm a liberal Democrat by the way, so this isn't political.

[fran9860]

Hey Bob, show us how you hold a pen.