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I think the media went out of its way to make Dole look bad. He's a crusty curmudgeon with a wonderful wit and a great sense of humor. The major media showed soundbites of the curmudgeon and not the wit with the sparkle in his eye--selective editing.

I remember being so frustrated with a friend who hated Dole. She could give me no cogent reason, just some gibberish about mean old man and couldn't trust him.

A few months ago, she remarked about seeing him on soemthing and how she had no idea he was so funny. Dole was infamous for his humor, for goodness sakes.

I always liked Dole. However, he lost me when he did the Viagra commercials.

Dare I say that you let slip that your Dole-hating friend was a "she." Yes, Dole may have had many women supporters. And I know it sounds sexist, but one of the major thorns in my side during the 90's was the female emotional attachment to His Slickness over all those old, paternal fuddyduddies like Bush Sr. and Dole. No rational, informed, political debate at work here, just the "tingle factor." My late Mom was the same way. If you gave her a checklist of the Democratic Platform, she'd nix over 80% of it - BUT, she just never liked (or voted for) Republican "personalities."

On the viagra thing and Dole.. I am not a guy, but I think it takes great courage to be able to talk about the problems associated with prostrate cancer. Many health care professionals have been reluctant to discuss impotence with their patients. For someone with the noterity of DOle to take this issue on is commendable. Perhaps you are offended by the over-played commercials that have gone along with the seriousness of the message. If if helps one person overcome somoe of the personal problems associated with cancer then in my opinion it is worthwhile. I think it reflects the heroic qualities of this disabled veteran. One other thing, in addition to Dole's humor not bieg highlighted during his run for the presidency, was his heoric status during WW II. Unlike McCain, DOle wanted to downplay his war esperiences where he suffered incredible scarring and permanent disabilites. He did not write a book about his war time experiences and downplayed his involvement. It was only a few years ago that he was awarded some regignition by ( I think the French government for his heriosm in holding on to a hill small group of allies even though his injuries were remarkable.) I will always believe tha Dole either won the 96 election or he came much closer than we will ever know. THink about the fraud that occurred in 2000 as well as the lack of counting the military ballots. It was in that election, that Landrieu won her senate seat and it was determined that many dead voters in the New Orleans had voted for her. Dole is a funny guy, spontaneously, as well as,intellectually.