A funeral ceremony was held in honor of Bob Dole, Veteran, former presidential candidate, and Senator at the Washington National Cathedral. Senior party leaders, both Republicans, and Democrats, gathered in a rare display of bipartisanship. It was a tribute to the ability of the longtime Senator from Kansas to emerge from a bare-knuckled scrap with a touch of civility.
Bob Dole was a Second World War veteran and a former representative in Kansas. He went on to serve in the House and the Senate for 36 years. he ran multiple vice-presidential and presidential campaigns.
Dozens of past and present politicians from across the divide included Bill Clinton, 3 vice presidents, Congress members, and many Cabinet officials. The ceremony included a tribute by President Biden, who spoke of Bob Dole by remembering their 50 years of friendship.
Pat Roberts, a former Republican Senator from Kansas said Dole’s sarcastic and deadpan sense of humor as a weapon to deflate partisan balloons.
Bob Dole’s flag-draped casket was carried in by a military honor guard. Dole’s wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Robin, looked on.
President Biden Spoke At Length Of His Association With Bob Dole
Biden touched Bob Dole’s casket before his address. He said that there was something that connected the past with the present, wartime with peace, and it was the courage, goodness, grit, and grace of a genuine American hero, among other things.
Biden went into details of his years as a child of the Dust Bowl, his military service, and his years of painful recovery.
Bob had a sarcastic and sharp tongue, but what made him stand out was his self-deprecating humor and pragmatism, something that Biden mentioned was lacking, as infighting makes it more unacceptable with each day.
Tom Hanks addressed the memorial crowd and reminded them that several structures in the city exist due to the efforts of Bob Dole, including the memorial.
