with the information involved senator dole will lie in state this thursday under the capitol rotunda where we will pay tribute to his life and his legacy i think the speaker and leader mcconnell make it a cement ceremony possible for your trouble i think all my colleagues are mourning the loss of this great public servant and all senator dole's family my deepest condolences. >> is hard tod believe it is bn 25 years since senator dole took leave of the senate. it's even harder believe he passed away this past weekend. not because it comes as a shock to say goodbye to an elder statesman at the age of 98 because apollo was so energetic, so involved in some form with

the right through to his final nights. if you did not know j bob dole d if you just read a summary yet an impressive senate career and his leadership tenure his presidential campaign he might sound like a man of contrast and conservative values personal responsibility and fiscal discipline the son of the dustbowl and the wounded warrior was laser focus on caring for the most vulnerable matching landmark wins on subjects from food insecurity to veterans issues to the right to disabled americans. on the one hand senator dole took pride in theca republican party he rose the key roles that

were necessary somewhat partisan first leading our senate republican conference for many years and leading a presidential ticket. he was also consensus founding legislature. an honest broker with friendships and working relationships that spanned the aisle. on the one hand our colleague was ernest on ironic and somewhat serious. the two greatest generation midwesterner he also had a charming desire to remain self-deprecating sense of humor he was cracking one-liners at his expense were doing a joint appearance with his comic impersonator. allow me one example bob dole's comedic talent. january of 1997 just just after

president clinton defeated bob dole in one his reelection the president had the medal of freedom. there they were in mid-january just three days before the day bob had spent months hoping he would be inaugurated but ulpresident clinton would be re-inaugurated instead. it was a gracious gesture in a warm event all around. the time came for bob's remarks bob except to the podium, looks around and he begins i robert j dole, the crowd asserted cracking up, do solemnly swear then a theatrical pause. oh sorry, wrong speech. once the audience died down there was a self-deprecating

punchline. i thought i would be here this historic week receiving something from the president but i thought it would be the front door key. the thing is madam president there was no contradiction in any of it no paradox, bob's life and career were very, very consistent. the virtues and the values that led bob dole to reese's right hand and enlist in the army and gravely until he could not reset hand any longer. with the same values that compel him to reese's left-hand for a different oath in the kansas state capital a few years later. then across the rotunda in the u.s. white house and in the senate the same virtues and values that made bob's speeches in the 1960s about a citizen's

duty he made his great empathy towards those who needed help. with bob dole what you saw is what you got. from his comrades in t the tenth division to his constituents in kansas to thee whole senate in the entire country what we got wasrd extraordinary. i cannot summarize in one speech the full life or legacy of our friend bob dole. there is a battlefield heroics the hospital bed friendships follow future senators and the best bridge player at percy jones hospital. there is a policy legacy that endures to this day. these remembrances will take congress this whole week and they will occupy historians for decades to come. bob dole had the same chief hero

for his entire adult life. his fellow son of kansas, general verna president, dwight eisenhower. bob did not just like him he idolized him and senator speech in 1996, he saved the second to last quotation for his hero from abilene kansas. he kept his foot on the gas pedal for the eisenhower memorial in washington well into hehis 90s. he invoked in praised i constantly throughout his career. one altercation was in late 1979 an event was held at eisenhower's boyhood home presidential library in the gravesite in abilene of what would've been his 89th birthday. it so happened that only a couple weeks later

mrs. eisenhower would pass away and bet really to rest as well. on the day senator dole explained america had gotten lucky. why, when we were thirsty for leadership we turn to a man from kansas a genuine hero who embodies his own life the finest qualities of the iraqi people. a man from grassroots america, steep into the tradition of neighborhood and patriotism andp service . . . ngth in war, yet nr forget the disease of poverty or the scourge of personal suffering. bob was always eloquent, and those lines of his certainly did describe ike. describe ike. now that our friends, heidi mason cares have come to a close, we can say with certainty eisenhower isn't the only one

who meets those standards.

there's nothing in the world, only ocean, i sky of tomorrow.em for our remarkable friend, the son of this world has set at last. we pick ray in faith people hold an even brighter light, tomorrow is not before him. the entire s senate since our prayers to elizabeth and robin and to so many family friends and former staff of senator dole. the whole country stands withth you. not only and grief but in gladness and thanksgiving for almost a century that would live so