Posted on 10/02/2002 4:02:46 AM PDT by jonefab
Bob Dole was back in Kansas on Monday, stumping for Republican candidates and cracking jokes about Strom Thurmond and Viagra.
"I see a lot of familiar faces," the former five-term senator said near the beginning of his speech at the Hilton Garden Inn in Downtown Kansas City, Kan. "Nobody's gotten any older. But my eyes have gotten worse."
Dole, 79, spent much of the morning campaigning for Republican Adam Taff, the 3rd District congressional candidate who is running against Democratic incumbent Dennis Moore. Dole attended a $50-a-person breakfast with about 250 others and made a television ad.
He then flew to Topeka and Wichita to campaign for Tim Shallenburger, the GOP candidate for governor. In Topeka, Dole advised Shallenburger to campaign in the small towns to pull the party together following the contentious August primary.
"If Tim will get Republicans on board, he'll win the election handily," Dole said.
"I remember I had a very tough race in 1974 (against Topeka doctor Bill Roy, a Democrat). I won because these little towns of 400, 300, 200 knew I'd been there and that I cared about them," Dole recalled.
In typical fashion, Dole's speech in Kansas City, Kan., was a free-ranging affair. Dole addressed everything from his two books on political humor to his wife's run for a U.S. Senate seat from North Carolina to the conflict with Iraq.
He said Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina helped him with the presidential-humor book, because he knew all the presidents and had once been an intern for George Washington.
North Carolina, Dole said, never has elected a woman to the Senate. But he said that Elizabeth Dole was ahead in the polls and that he expected her to win.
On Iraq, Dole said Congress should give the president the authority to wage war and then let him make the final call on when war should begin.
"The president," Dole said, "has a big, big judgment (to make). Are you going to wait until there is a strike, or do we do it pre-emptively?"
He joked about his role as a pitchman for Viagra, the sexual stimulant drug for men.
"I don't have any samples," he said. "A couple of guys already stopped and asked."
Dole was more serious about the 3rd District congressional race. Taff's credentials as a former Navy pilot would come in handy in Congress, because he understands biological and chemical weaponry, Dole said.
"There aren't as many veterans now...in the House and the Senate," Dole said. "I think he's somebody they'll listen to, somebody who's been there."
Dole said the most important vote the next congressman casts will be for House speaker, because that person sets the congressional agenda.
To reach Steve Kraske, political correspondent, call (816) 234-4312 or send e-mail to skraske@kcstar.com.
To reach John L. Petterson, who covers Kansas government and politics, call (785) 354-1388 or send e-mail to jpetterson@kcstar.com.
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