President George H.W. Bush

Transcript

PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH, 41st President of the United States

On the run-up to the War, Desert Storm, I depended on him enormously because we had to get through the Senate a resolution that, quote, gave the president authority to use whatever means are necessary, unquote, to end the aggression in Kuwait. Bob Dole stepped right up to the plate, supportive of this. We didn’t have the votes to start with. We ended up getting the votes. And that’s because of his leadership in the United States Senate. I’ve often thought about that. I’ll never forget a dinner he gave for me when I got beaten by Clinton. He was still in the Senate. And it was very emotional: an emotional goodbye, an emotional tribute, both ways. My paying respects to him, and his paying respects to the president. So, I don’t know how to say it, other than, absolutely essential.