host: richard norton smith, presidential historian, author, friend of this network. prescription drugs, including insulin. this is about 20 minutes.

in on the phone, richard norton smith, longtime friend of this network, historian, author, also the founding director of the rubber gentle institute for politics at the university of kansas. good morning to you, sir, thank you for the time this morning. your thoughts this morning on bob dole's legacy, dying at age 98. >> well, that is a very big subject. the president sent me a statement yesterday and quoted from something senator dole said back in the mid-1980's when he was for managing the legislation that created the martin luther king national birthday holiday, which is one of many dole accomplishments that people perhaps are not aware of. as i recall, the quote was, no first-class democracy would power some class -- second-class citizens. it really was a lifelong belief in one that was rooted in dole's upbringing. you know, it is tempting to see or define dole through his world war ii experiences, of course, his severe wounding and subsequent hospitalization, three years or more on both sides of the atlantic. but actually, bob dole's character, the character that enabled him to survive

. >> i want to bring richard norton smith, longtime friend of the network, historian, author, the founding director of the institute for politics at the university of kansas. thank you for the time this morning. >> that is a very big subject. he quoted from something senator dole had said in the mid-1980s when he was floor managing the legislation that created the national birthday holiday, which is one of many accomplishments people perhaps are not aware of. as i recall, the quote is no first-class democracy could tolerate second-class citizens. and fact i think was a lifelong belief and one that was r rooted in his upbringing. it's tempting to see him and his experiences across the subsequent hospitalization three years or more on both sides, but actually his character that enabledra him to survive individually overcome it individually to the national level, that was something that preceded the war, that was something formed in a residence at the corner of tenth and maple street on the football field and the track. as a young man ironically, he wanted to be a doctor and the irony of cour

host: richard norton smith, author, friend of the network, thank you for your time.uest: thank you for your interest. host: we are talking to our viewers on the death of bob dole, his legacy, lifetime of service. we want to hear from you. 202-748-8000 in the eastern or central time zones. 202-748-8001 in the mountain or pacific time zones. and a line for world war ii veterans and their family members, 202-748-8002. greg in colorado, but first on the phone lines. good morning -- up first on the phone lines. good morning. caller: thank you for having me. you guys are the best. i watch you every morning. i'm a democrat and it is refreshing to see a person like bob dole, who could get things done, did his job. he had morals, he had class. and something that is very rare to see in the republican party these days. and i notice you opened the show with him next to the former president, and couldn't be two different people, just like your guest said, could not agree with him more. we need more republicans like bob dole that will do something, do their job. and i thank him an

. >> i want to bring richard norton smith, longtime friend of the network, historian, author, the founding director of the institute for politics at the

in on the phone, richard norton smith, longtime friend of this network, historian, author, also the founding director of the rubber gentle institute for politics at the university of kansas. good morning to you, sir, thank you for the time this morning. your thoughts this morning on bob dole's legacy, dying at age 98.

also with us think hour richard norton smith, bob dole's longtime friend and founding director of theitute of politics. leanne, start with you. what can we expect as sayre more thanes get under way this morning? >> reporter: good morning. dobb bole died 98 but spent 11 years as republican leader both majority and minority leader. the late senator is going to arrive in a casket with his family at 9:45 a.m. the ceremony in the rotunda behind me will start at 10:00 a.m. where he will be greeted by defense secretary lloyd austin. symbolizing the service of bob dole. he was a world war ii veteran who was badly injured, and stayed with him the rest of his life. speaking today is going to be speaker pelosi, leader mcconnell, leader schumer and president biden, who served with senator dole for 24 hours in the senate. it's going to be a short ceremony. just about 45 minutes. and after that time, then members of congress, staff and friends and family can come and visit his casket in the rotunda until 8:00 p.m. tonight, but we can expect to hear some themes during the speeches today including ci

. >> he's an important figure, i think richard norton smith?yes. >> -- so for -- >> -- very important figure. >> might have got more promise, again, you know, very important figure. >> and then again, you know, leapfrog forward to the society. what, where, why, who? >> rippon society was an outfit of young people like me, graduate students, lawyers, political scientist, biologists, engineers from the cambridge area, tufts, mit and harvard law school. and a group of people vaguely oriented towards the more conservative party, the republican party but within it more sort of p, you know, like a benjamin --. yeah we're conservatives but we have to do things in order for the society to stay whole, to stay coherent and for people to have confidence things are working for them. specifically it was modelled on a british organization called the bo group which was part of conservative party there. but was sort of a bridge between academic circles, policy world and office holders. so the rippon society set out with this grand pretension to try to be somet

host: richard norton smith, presidential historian, author, friend of this network.hank you, as always, for your time. >> thank you very much for your interest. host: we're talking to viewers this morning on the death of bob dole, his legacy, his lifetime of service. want to hear your thoughts. phone lines split regionally. (202) 748-8000, eastern or central time zones. (202) 748-8001, mountain or pacific time zones. and we have that line for world war ii veterans or family members, (202) 748-8002. greg from denison, colorado come up first on the phone lines this morning. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for having me. as always, washington journal, you guys are the best. i watch you every morning. i am a democrat, and it is refreshing to see a person like bob dole who could get things done. in his job, he had morals. he had class. and something that is very rare to see in the republican party these days. i noticed that you opened the show with him next to the former president, and there cannot be two different people, just like your guest just set on the p

i want to bring in on the phone, richard norton smith, longtime friend of this network, historian, author, also the founding director of the rubber gentle institute for politics at the university of kansas. good morning

. >> richard norton smith did a superb biography of nelson rockefeller several years ago. tell us about another titanic figure that you worked with closely. talk about pat moynihan. >> that moynihan is one of the eminent stories of the first nixon white house and in my view of nixon's appetite for policy his desire to use facts as well as politics to make a decision and pat moynihan was a partisan democrat. he tried unsuccessfully to run in new york city for public office and he had been despised during his work in the kennedy and johnson administration in something called the family report which is a very sympathetic understanding active consideration of the racial question but he caught nixon's attention. pat moynihan worked for kubrick humphrey actively promoting him but what caught nixon's attention was a speech that moynihan gave 18 months earlier to the ada, american democratic action. >> it was the wheelhouse of democratic politics and moynihan said in 1967 and 68 with paralyzing with close to what we have today. you had race riots and in over 100 american cities. y

also with us still, richard norton smith, a speechwriter for bob dole.ole there, such a moving moment as you watch, she laid her hand then her head on the casket. you're very close with both of the doles and they had a beautiful love story. she said in an interview she fell for his kindness. this was a partnership in so many ways, and i think that speaks to -- they both are, frankly, as people, and what really drove bob dole. >> elizabeth dole is a force in her own right. she not only served in the senate, but she feels a major portion of the red cross. she did so many great things for this country. it was an unusual relationship because she did bring out the soft side of bob dole, and many didn't see his soft side in the public, especially in the midst of political fights. she brought something special out in him, and i think it made a big difference in their relationship. it was a long senate ro relationship. i'm from north carolina as well. she was well-known in that state as a person who really cared, and she went out of her way to look out for peopl

. >> also joining us is richard norton smith, who was both a friend of the late senator but also his this morning to give us more of a sense of who senator bob dole was. so many people, of course, had ideas about who he was. in his statement following hiss passing, president biden called him an american statesman like few in our history, talked about him as a friend and trusted guidance, and his humor, which was a central part of who he was and made up who he was as a person. >> three days after the election, which you may recall he lost convincingly to bill clinton, he did something very unusual. most defeated presidential candidates fade away pretty quickly. three days after the election, bob dole went on david letterman's show, and he was funny. and i could not tell you, as long as i've known the senator, going back over 40 years, people would say i didn't know bob dole was funny. if i knew he was like that, i might have voted for him. well, he was one of the very few people in washington who didn't need a speechwriter, didn't need a gag writer when it came to humor. he had a marv

. >> richard norton smith seems to be the light motif of this evening. but he had this rockefeller why roughly. tell us about another titanic figure. you had worked with him closely. tell us about pat moynahan. >> pat monahan is one of the linchpins of any story of the first nixon white house. and in my view, of nixon's appetite for policy. his desire to use facts as well as politics to make a decision. and pat moynahan was a partisan democrat. an active partisan democrat. he tried, unsuccessfully, to run in new york city for public office. and he had been despised during his work in the kennedy and johnson administrations. he published something called the -- family report, which essentially it was a very sympathetic understanding, active consideration of the racial question. but the thing that caught nixon's attention about packed moynahan -- as we would learn -- pat monahan worked for bob kennedy and for hubert humphrey, actively. but what brought nixon's attention was a speech that moynahan gave 18 months earlier to the ada -- >> american democratic

american history tv, republican of kansas, sat down in 2007 for a wide ranging conversation with richard norton smith. this is one of a serious to capture his life and times. we join the conversation in progress. >>> about how loyal a leader you were going to be. awe that was speculation. bob dole, tried to torpedo b

american history tv, republican of kansas, sat down in 2007 for a wide ranging conversation with richard norton smith. this is one of a serious to capture his life and times. we join the conversation in progress. >>> about how loyal a leader you were going to be. awe that was speculation. bob dole, tried to torpedo bush. and then the john -- came longest about that time. and of course dour was a very good friend of mine. >> did he get a raw deal? >> well he got a raw deal by -- couple people have drinking problems and speaking against him in the senate floor. i mean -- you know. and -- you know, i i really liked sam dunn, i think he's really a great guy. but i thought -- you know, i thought he got talked into opposing john tower and they were good buddies but i later forgot it all. because we had a memorial service for tower at the arlington. sam showed up. >> there are those who think there was a little bit of payback involved. over the years, tower, you know he was a very bright guy. >> -- yeah, very bright. and no small talk with tower. and he did have a problem. you know, i'm not sure if it's bad