Bob Dole Takes Down Rush Limbaugh on McCain Attacks

CNN reports that former Senator Bob Dole, the 1996 GOP standard-bearer, has rebuked Rush Limbaugh in a letter defending John McCain. The right-wing talk radio host has led conservative attacks on McCain's alleged liberalism and hyper-bipartisanship (via Memeorandum):

Former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole on Monday wrote conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh defending John McCain as a "mainstream conservative" who had supported the party on critical votes during Dole's time as the Senate Republican leader.

The letter, obtained by CNN from a Republican source close to Dole, includes a voting comparison that suggests McCain's voting record compares favorably to that of the longtime conservative icon Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina.

Dole in the letter said he remains neutral in the GOP contest and spoke kindly of all three remaining leading GOP candidates. But the letter comes at a time Limbaugh is trying to rally grassroots conservative support against McCain.

Here's a key quote from Dole's letter:

I was the Republican Leader from January 1985 until I left the Senate voluntarily in June 1996. I worked closely with Senator McCain when he came to the Senate in 1987 until I departed. I cannot recall a single instance when he did not support the Party on critical votes.

Dole goes on to urge Limbaugh to get with the program:

Whoever wins the Republican nomination will need your enthusiastic support. Two terms for the Clintons are enough.

That "whoever" is more than likely McCain, the way things are shaking out around the country.

While I'm talking about Bob Dole, let me relay the concerns of one of my commenters, JSF, who asks:

My only worry with Mccain is that their will be a replay of the 1996 election.

Can you address it?

Thanks and Good luck for your guy tommorow!

I gave a quick response in the comments to my earlier post, "Neoconservatives for McCain":

JSF: Long story short: Bill Clinton!!

Actually, no incumbent on the ballot makes this a whole different ballgame. The Dole-is-McCain comparison is emotional and apolitical.

Don't believe it for a second.

To elaborate the point: Bill Clinton in 1996 prevailed over the GOP Congress on fiscal policy, where he was able to portray the Republican majority as threatening Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the environment.

The Comeback Kid had successfully shifted the media spin to GOP recalcitrance and hubris.

Not only that, changes in the campaign finance system - the major party nominees will likely forgo public financing - will make this year's election much more competitive than 1996.

Dole was broke after the 1996 GOP primary battle, and was unable to run television advertising until after the convention, which left him vulnerable to Clinton, who had started advertising as early as summer 1995, and had been able to use DNC soft-money media buys throughout the summer of the general election year.

In addition, Dole appeared old and frail on the campaign trail - falling down at one campaign event - and frequently absent-minded.

McCain, on the other hand, is as vigorous as any candidate in the 2008 race (despite the fact that if he wins in November he'll be the oldest candidate elected to a first term in the Oval Office).

The Dole-McCain comparison will likely be heard with increasing frequency in the weeks ahead, as disgruntled base conservatives continue to resist the Arizona Senator, stabbing him in the back for his compromises and so-called bipartisan apostasy.

In any case, Dole's a good man and a true patriot. Very few Americans are in a better position to comment on John McCain's qualifications for the presidency.