Bob Dole in 1996

Why did the Republicans nominate such a weak candidate?

Because Mitt Romney wasn't ready yet
Why did the Democrats nominate Carter 2nd time, Dukakis, Mondale, McGovern? Why did the Republicans nominate Goldwater. None of them had a hope in hell of winning by May of their perspective election years.
The Repugs have a history of giving the nomination to the next guy in line rather than choosing a change candidate.
That bodes well for me in 2016, R3
Rick%20Santorum
He promised them free Viagra and blowjobs from Liddy.
His absence at the Warren Rudman memorial suggests that his end may be imminent. Speaking of imminent deaths, Howard Baker was present at the ceremony and obviously afflicted with some gruesome condition. He was seen in the audience with an ever-present contorted face. He briefly spoke and then was carried out by a couple of attendants.
Parkinsons, r6?
Because it was his turn. Whom would you expect them to nominate DAN QUAYLE???
They wanted Lucille Ball, but Gary Morton talked her out of it.
They liked the way he referred to himself in the third person. "Bob Dole says he would veto such a bill if put on his desk. This is because Bob Dole is a Republican."
R6, it looks as if the final members of the Reagan gang are dying off
I thought he was already dead.
Well, he always sounded dead.
He was Senate Minority leader at the time, and had a great deal of power and respect within the party. He had run before, and it was thought this would be Dole's turn. He had amassed a good deal of campaign funds.
Dole and other Republicans of his generation were far more statesmanlike and soberminded than any of the current Republican Senate leadership (and let's not mention the Tea Party loons... ever).
Liddy's Oprah turn during the '96 RNC was one of the campiest things I've ever seen.
It was enjoyable seeing Liddy Dole lose her Senate seat in 2008 to Kay Hagan.
R6, Baker's Wikipedia page includes this nugget when Baker was the Senate majority leader: A story is sometimes told of a reporter telling a senior Democratic senator that privately, a plurality of his Democratic colleagues would vote for Baker for President of the United States. The senator is reported to have replied, "You're wrong. He'd win a majority."
Because Clinton was going to win, Rebulicans had to put up someone and Dole was there.
Howard Baker's two wives have quite the republican pedigree. His late first wife was the daughter of Everett Dirksen. His second wife, former Sen. Nancy Kassebaum, is the daughter of Alf Landon, the party's nominee in 1936.
I'm with R15, the old Republicans were a lot less batshit. There are a whole bunch of white guys and Marco Rubio (who also seems pretty white to me) who think next time it's their turn. Rick Santorum (thank you, jeebus), Rick Perry (hehehe), Paul Ryan (it's actually his turn), Jeb Bush (still too soon), Chris Christie (still too fat), Governor Vaginal Probe (of Virginia) and if we're very, very good - Alan West. I hope they order as many episodes of "The Republican Primary Debate Show" as they did this year. Good times.
Who would have been a strong candidate? Seriously.
He wasn't a particularly weak candidate. His main competitors were Buchanan, Specter and Gramm. Hard to imagine any of those guys doing better, let alone much better than Dole against Clinton. If Clinton hadn't been a Southern White guy, then Dole might well have won almost as many states as Romney did. And there was a major third party candidate in Perot.
Elizabeth Dole was more popular than Hillary Clinton (back in 1996)
It's funny how Bob Dole was considered ancient even THEN, and here he is still alive almost 20 years later!
From Nov.27: Former Senate Republican Leader and presidential nominee Bob Dole has been hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid, D-Nev., told colleagues on the floor of the U.S. Senate Tuesday evening that Dole, 89 years old, called him a few days ago to tell him that he is at Walter Reed and that it is “not for a checkup.” “He is infirm, he is sick,” Reid said of Dole, who has been hospitalized many times over the years. “We should do this to recognize what a great leader Bob Dole is,” Reid said.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/11/bob-dole-hospitalized/
So both Bob Dole and George H. W. Bush are in the hospital.
Yes R27
If they both die, it will be the end of a Republican era and the beginning of a new day!
By the standards of today's Republicans, both of them would be moderate to liberal.
That's where you're wrong R30, because both of them moved right with the party since the party was where their loyalties lay.
I realize what you mean is that when they were in power their actions would be considered far left of today's republicans. Yes. But they aren't some virtuous elder statesment, they are mindless party drones.
Simple answer, OP: The other Republicans knew Clinton was going to win, and they let Dole have his run - his useless, impotent run.
[quote]By the standards of today's Republicans, both of them would be moderate to liberal. Frightening, but true. But Dole stayed in public life after he lost, and even worked with Clinton as a special envoy. (And, of course, did the Viagra commercials). He was a cranky ol' SOB, but an old school traditional Republican (fiscal conservative, much more liberal than today's GOP). He was seriously wounded in WWII (which is why his one arm didn't move much) and had to do extensive rehab. He was always good to the vets.
[quote]He was a cranky ol' SOB, but an old school traditional Republican (fiscal conservative, much more liberal than today's GOP) And he was really witty.
um, no she wasn't R24. The White House had done an extraordinary redux on Hillary after health care, sending her all over the world on photo ops with Chelsea, riding elephants and shit like that. She was amazingly popular going into the 96 election. Bill knew how to set up a campaign.
R21, you forgot the comedian, Herman 999 Cain.
I met him once, R34, he came to my college. It was surprising to have to shake hands with him using the left hand - I'd never realized he had a disabled right arm. He kept a fountain pen clutched in his right hand, which was kept against his chest. After that, I paid attention to him on TV and it was marvelous how adroit he was at glad-handing. He always was first to offer his hand in any situation, and it gave people a chance to adjust without embarrassment. Impressive guy.
Compare him to the clown brigade contesting this year's GOP primaries and he seems like a fucking visionary.
He was a friend of my mother's and I met him multiple times. He was very flirtatious with me (I was a teenage boy at the time).
I disagreed with Bob Dole's politics for the most part, but I will say he was a decent man and the last of the old-school Republicans, who were not the insane lunatics they are today. I could sit down and have dinner with Bob Dole and have a good time, despite our political disagreements. I cannot think of any contemporary Republican I could do that with.
Because Repugs do not "fall in love" as Democrats do--they "fall in line." It was "Dole's turn" as both Dole and the head Repugs figured so at the time. It was also Dole's last chance since he was getting too old, and the Repugs had to turn from the World War II generation and nominate someone younger next time 'round. And few other Repugs were willing to run against popular Bill Clinton at the time.
Remember, the Republicans strategy on Bill Clinton was about his "youth," and that he was a pot-smoking, draft-dodging, good-for-nothing Baby Boomer. He was a hippie, and protested AGAINST THE USA on foreign soil. He was probably a Manchurian Candidate -- programmed against Democracy by the Soviets. Enter WW2 vet and steady AMERICAN, Bob Dole. Get the picture?
LOL
Did Bob do something to his face? He looks awful.
He had a facelift AFTER the 1996 election. He would only admit to having a mole removed on Larry King.
He's actually pre-embalmed to save Liddy time and money when he passes.
R44, the man is pushing 90 years old and has been in the hospital recently. He went to the Senate in a wheelchair today to try and get the Republicans to vote for the Disability Treaty, but they voted it down anyway.
My fellow Americans. As a young boy, I dreamed of being a baseball. But tonight I say, we must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!
Kodos, holding hands with Bob Dole