in his pespeech, right. he talked about the values of the republican party, being about inclusivity. he said to folks believe in this convention hall if you don't believe the values of lincoln and his party. that was a real moment for him. we saw an evolution in a different way for the republican p party, and he of course endorsed donald trump, who didn't necessarily stand for those values. i met him in his office, put on my best blazer, and to me he was the embodiment of power in washington but also someone who could connect with an average person. >> is that the blazer you're wearing? >> but as somebody who covered him, he could be really -- he could give you that glare and a couple of words when you wrote something he didn't like. on the other hand, he could just flip it in a minute and be incredibly funny. and, you know, i was talking to him about losing the race to cli clinton, an he said, well, i figured he could shake twice as many hands as i could, so that's why i lost, because we all know he walked around with a black pen in his hand so people wouldn't be confused about which hand they could shake. and he did hide, as you were saying, a lot of the physical infirmities he talked to me about later on that he was having during the campaign. >> that was part of the -- >> he couldn't really shake hands with -- >> he did this all the time. >> we shook hands with our left. >> he took that as a sign of respect if it became natural to you, because he did not want it to be unnach ram. e v he did not want people to feel uncomfortable around him. he could not move his right hand. if you did that, he took it as a gesture of respect. i remember that after the campaign because it was so common place, you shook hands with your left hand. i would smile and extend my left hand to someone else i was not on the dole plan anymore. >> it was a reminder. it was a black sharpie. >> you see some of the people sitting next to each other, nancy pelosi and chuck schumer sitting next to each other, gloria. you know who's sitting next to chuck schumer? mitch mcconnell. >> well, there you go. they've been in conversations a lot lately. and they've been working together on raising the debt limit, so they have been having conversations. >> the old mitch mcconnell was very much like bob dole and what mitch mcconnell did on the debt limit was very much like a bob dole. this was from the day before bob dole announced in 1999. i asked which value guides you? you get a good deal, something you can live with. that was his greatest strength. it was a weakness as a presidential candidate because he had a long rivalry with george h.w. bush, but he would say people want the vision thing, people say i don't have it. that's what dole would say and h.w. bush said. they became friends. they were fierce rivals, but he was a deal maker. there are people out there watching saying we don't want that. that art is lost in washington in part because in our polarized politics, it is what you see there, mitch mcconnell talking to chuck schumer, viewed as blasphemy. >> there will be a world war ii memorial ceremony. suzanne malveaux, walk us through the program that's about to begin. >> well, one of the things that i want to highlight, of course, the program we are expecting to hear from president biden, who will be giving remarks as well as senator tom daschle and pat roberts as well as his daughter, robin dole. but within of the highlights of the songs that will come almost at the very end before they proceed out of the cathedral, it is called "you'll never walk alone." and this is from the musical, 1945 musical "carousel." it is very important and meaningful to bob dole. this was the song that played over and over and over again on repeat when he was in the hospitals for 39 months, recovering, trying to get over those war wounds, and holding on for dear life. and he needed something. he needed inspiration. he needed encouragement. it was that song that he kept playing over and over to give him what he needed to move forward. and that is something that we will all be hearing together as a community, as a nation, and really as a world, that message of hope and that you are never alone in moving forward. that is going to be one of the central themes today of this tribute. wolf? >> yeah. you're absolutely right. you know, jamie, we're told president biden just arrived at the washington national cathedral. it's a pretty short drive from massachusetts avenue to the cathedral. senator amy klobucar sitting next to ted cruz. everyone else seems to be wearing a mask except him. the president wants to pay tribute to a great american. >> absolutely. just to go back to something that malika mentioned, he did endorse donald trump, but he was talking, i'm told, to a very close friend, another politician from kansas not so long ago, and he was really dismayed about where the republican party and the base was today. and he said, i couldn't get elected. i couldn't get through a primary today. and also just to mention the rivalry with bush 41, it was fierce, but late in life, it was a genuine friendship. they used to call each other. bush 41 used to say he was his greatest parter in. they bonded over the americans with disabilities act. and the bush family was really touched when bush 41 was lying in state, there was that extraordinary picture where bob dole stood up to salute the casket. >> the president now and the first lady walking into the cathedral. i think the vice president, kamala harris, is coming in as well. so this is the program, mia, about to begin. it will be very, very moving. >> it will be. it's a moment for the nation to reflect on a hero, someone who served his country not only in politics but also on the battlefield, suffered personally, of course, with that injury, and that he was in pain for much of his life, but used that to do great good for such a broad segment of americans. >> biden is known as the eulogizer in chief because he's done so many of these for his former colleagues. i believe he served 36 years in the congress, and i think dole served 35 years in the congress. in many ways, they're cut from the same cloth because they've always been looking for compromise. and, you know, dole always used to tell his staff or ask them, when was the last time that losing ever worked in your best interest? and he said, never give up. i think that is something the president now lives by. >> we see senator dole walking in, the widow. >> labor secretary. jamie gangel talked about two men fierce rivals came to understand each other and move on. a senator from north carolina at senator dole's side. presidential candidate herself briefly later in life as well. fiercely loyal to him. a power couple, very power informal washington, but sad to see her and robin dole obviously behind. very private, not a very public person, rarely would to g out on the campaign trail. when she did, she had great stories. we'll be hearing from her shortly. she'll be making a presentation with some thoughts about her dad, as well. gloria, we're about to pause and watch all of this unfold, but you spent a lot of quality time with this great man. >> i think he would be honored to have so many leaders of the body in which he served appearing here today, so many members of congress. i think he would love it that bill clinton was there, the man who beat him, and man he became friends with. >> yeah. very moving. all right. let's watch. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ bells tolling ] [ bells tolling ] [ bells tolling ] i am resurrection and i am light, says the lord. whoever has faith in me shall have life, even though they die. and everyone who has life and has committed himself to me in faith shall not die forever. as for me, i know that my redeemer lives and that at the last, he will stand upon the ea earth. after my waking, he will raise me up. and in my body, i shall see god. i myself shall see and my eyes behold him, who is my friend and not a stranger. when none of us lives to himself and no one becomes his own master when he dies, for if we have life, we are alive in the lord. and if we die, we die in the lord. so then whether we live or die, we are the lord's possession. happy from now on are those who die in the lord. so it is, says the for they rest from their labors. >> forward, march. >> good morning. my name is randy holereth, and i'm the dean of national cathedral. on behalf of the bishop of the diocese of washington and michael curry, the residing bishop of the episcopal church, welcome. welcome to this house of prayer for all people. we are honored to host this service for senator dole. we recognize that we are gathering yet again to lay to rest a great american, only five weeks after having said farewell to another icon in our nation, colin powell. we have, indeed, seen too much loss in recent days. to elizabeth, robin, and the entire dole family, please know that this cathedral and this nation grieves with you and you are in our prayers. bob dole was one of the greatest of the greatest generation, a pit rot who always placed country above partisanship and politics. while we mourn his loss, we gather this morning to give thanks for and to celebrate his extraordinary life. though senator dole has gone from us, he is not lost. the same god who raised jesus from the dead will raise bob dole as well. that is the good news. our faith tells us that we will meet again in a place where there is no death, no sorrow, no pain, where there is only life everlasting. this, then, isn't good-bye, because in god's story, death never has the last word. for now, it is enough to say, on behalf of a grateful nation, well done, good and faithful servant. well done. thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ lift high the cross the love of christ proclaim ♪ ♪ till all the world adore his sacred name ♪ ♪ o lord, once lifted on the glorious tree ♪ ♪ as thou hast promised draw the world to thee ♪ ♪ lift high the cross the love of christ proclaim ♪ ♪ till all the world adore his sacred name ♪ ♪ so shall our song of triumph ever be ♪ ♪ praise to the crucified for victory ♪ lift high the cross the love of christ proclaim ♪ ♪ till all the world adore his sacred name ♪ >> the lord be with you. >> and also with you. >> let us pray. o god, whose mercies cannot be numbered, accept our prayers on behalf of your servant, bob, and grant him an entrance into the land of light and joy in the fellowship of your saints. through jesus christ, our lord, who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, one god, now and forever, amen. >> a reading from the prophet isiah. do you not know, have you not heard? the lord is the everlasting god, the creator of the ends of the earth. he will not grow tired or weary in hand his understanding no on can fathom. he gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. even youth grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall, but those who wait upon the lord will renew their strength. they will soar on wings like eagles. they will run and not grow weary. they will walk and not faint. the word of the lord. >> thanks be to god. >> reverend, clergy, distinguished guests, among the many memories from 50 years of friendship, there's one that especially captures what bob dole was as a man and in my view as a patriot. we were on our way to the 50th anniversary of d-day in normandy where he started in italy. much had been written about his time there, but to be there with him felt significantly different. he was on a mission in the mountains, nazi gunfire and mortar fire was thick, men were dying, facing a hail of bullets, 2nd lieutenant robert joseph dole hurled a grenade into an empty gun nest. he was trying to help a fallen comrade, his platoon radioman, when everything changed. and i mean everything changed. his spine was damaged because fire tore across the hills, shattering his body, grieves youly wounded, he was paralyzed. dragged behind a wall, bob would pass in and out of consciousness, dreaming of home as he laid bleeding in the foxhole for nearly nine hours. he was 21 years old. in decades on, we gathered here in a world far different from the mountains battlefield in 1945. but there's something -- there's something that connects that past and present, wartime and peace, then and now -- the courage, the grit, the goodness, and the grace of 2nd lieutenant named bob dole, who became congressman dole, senator dole, statesman, husband, father, friend, colleague, and a word often overused but not here, a genuine hero. bob dole. dean and the clergy officiating today's service, president clinton, vice president harris, vice president pence, cheney, and quayle, speaker pelosi, leader schumer, leader mitch mcconnell, members of congress of both parties, past and present, members of the cabinet, general milley, the leaders of our military, distinguished guests, most of all, the dole family, elizabeth, it's been said that memory is the power to gather roses in winter. bob left you with 45 years worth of roses of a life built and a love shared that's going to guide you through the difficult days ahead. jill and i will always be there for you, as many others in this church will be, as you and bob were always there for us in ways nobody knows. and robin, you carry your father's pride, grace, and character. he's always going to be with you. as the old saying goes, you are your father's daughter. you are your father's daughter. bob dole's story is a very american one. born and raised in a three-room house through dust bowl of the great depression, shipped out as a young man to world war ii, wounded in battle. on the same weekend that franklin delano roosevelt was being warned by millions, bob came home, rebuilt his life, painful hour by painful day by painful week by painful month, by painful year. he and danny inoue were wounded on the mountain not far from where he was. talk about the recovery they spent together for all those literally several years is astounding. god, what courage bob dole had. he then went to school on the g.i. bill, came to washington with a new frontier, bravely voted for civil rights and voting rights in years of the kennedys, lyndon johnson, and martin luther king jr. ran for president on the ticket with gerald ford. and through the age of nixon, carter, reagan, bush the elder, and clinton, bob was literally a master of the senate. we served together for 25 years. we disagreed, but we were never disagreeable with one another. not one time that i can think of. i found bob to be a man of principle, pragmatism, and enormous integrity. he came into the arena with certain guiding principles. he began with devotion to country, to fair play, to decency, to dignity, to honor, to literally attempting to find the common good. that's how he worked with george mcgovern, to fight hunger in america, particularly as it affected children and around the world. he worked with teddy kennedy and tom harkin to bring down the barriers of americans living with disabilities, a profound change and a profound act of grace. he worked with daniel patrick moynihan to literally save social security, because bob believed every american deserved to grow old with their basic dignity, basic dignity spakt. and over the op soigs of many in his own party, and some in mine, he managed to build and create a federal holiday in the name of martin luther king jr. bob dole. bob dole did that. he never forgot where he came from and never forgot what he said to our colleagues about the effort for the king holiday. i'll quote. he said, "no first-class democracy can treat people like second-class citizens." no first-class democracy can treat people like second-class citizens. bob didn't hate government. knew people needed it most were the people most in need. he wanted government to work, to work for folks like him, who came up the hard way. just give everybody a chance, joe. just a chance. during the depression, bob's parents moved into the basement of their three-room, not three-bedroom, their three-room home in russell, kansas, so they could rent out the upstairs. bob understood hardship. he had known hardship. he never forgot it. he never forgot the people, as well, who sent him to washington, people from russell, from kansas. bob was a man who always did his duty, who lived by a cold of honor. almost seems strange to say that today, but he lived by a code of honor and he meant it. just as his colleagues, republican and democrat, looked at him, i think they saw him the same way i did. just ask any who served with him at the time. bob dole fit my dad's description. he said, you must be a man of your word. without your word, you're not a man. bob dole was a man of his word. he loved his country, which he served his whole life. the bible tells us to much is given, much is expected. and bob dole, for all his hardship, believed he'd been given the greatest gift of all -- he was an american. he was an american. and he felt it. let's be honest, bob dome was always honest, sometimes to a fault. he once endured the wrath of his fellow republicans when there was a legitimate fight going on to defund amtrak. now, i have traveled over 1,200,000 miles on amtrak because i commuted every single day. it came time for literally the deciding vote, the deciding vote on whether we were going to defund amtrak. and he cast the vote against his party, deciding to keep funding amtrak. and obviously he was asked why. why would you do that? he says, "the best way to get joe biden the hell out of here at night so he's not hanging around." excuse my language. true story. absolutely true story. god, i loved the guy. as i said, he was always honest. but bob relished a good political fight, much as anybody i've ever served with in the 36 years i was in the senate. and bob gave as good or better than he got. he was a proud republican. he chaired his party. he managed caucus in the united states senate, and he bore the banner as its nominee for vice president and president of the united states. he could be partisan, and that was fine. americans have been partisan since jefferson and hamilton, squared off in george washington's cabinet. but like them, bob dome was a patriot. he was a patriot. and here's what his patriotism teaches us in my view, as bob dole himself wrote at the end of his life, and i quote him -- "i cannot pretend that i have not been a loyal champion of my party, but i've always served my country best when i did so first and foremost as an american." first and foremost as an american. that was bob dole. that was your husband. that was your dad. always as an american. he understood that we're all part of something much bigger than ourselves, and he really did, i felt. he really understood it. compromise isn't a dirty word. it's the cornerstone of democracy. consensus is requiring in a democracy to get anything done. that's how you get things done. again, listen to bob dole's words, not mine. i'm quoting him again. "i learned that it's difficult to get anything done unless you can compromise, not your principles but your willingness to see the other side. those who suggest that compromise is a sign of weakness misunderstand the fundamental strength of democracy." in his final days, bob made it clear that he was deeply concerned about the threat to american democracy, not from foreign nations, but from the division tearing us apart from within. and this soul reminded us, and i quote, "too many of us have sacrificed too much in defending freedom from foreign adversaries to allow our democracy to crumble in a state -- under a state of infighting that grows more unacceptable day biy day." grows more unacceptable day by day. he wrote this when he knew his days were numbered, in small numbers. my fellow americans, "taps" is now sounding for this soldier of america, forged in war, tested by adversity. "taps" is sounding for this patriot driven by a sense of mission to give back to the land that gave everything to him, for which he nearly gave his all. "taps" is now sounding for this giant of our time on and of all time. we're bidding this great american farewell, but we know, as long as we keep his spirit alive, as long as we see each other not as enemies but as neighbors and colleagues, as long as we remember that we're here not to tear down but to build up, as long as we remember that. then "taps" will never sound for bob dole. for bob. who will be with us always, cracking a joke, moving a bill, finding common ground. his final message to the nation, bob said that whenever he started a new journey, whenever he started a new journey, the first thing he would do, and i quote, is sit back and watch for a few days, then start standing up for what he thought was right. bob has taken his final journey. he's sitting back now, watching us. now it's our job to start standing up for what's right for america. i salute you, my friend. your nation salutes you. and i believe the word of the poet art d. ingersoll, when he described heroism, "better treat you than anyone i know." he wrote the following. "when the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scores a compromise with death, that is heroism." flights of angels, sing thee to thy rest, bob. god bless bob dole. god bless america. may god protect our troops . ♪ ♪ god be in my head and in my understanding ♪ ♪ god be in mine eyes and in my looking ♪ ♪ god be in my mouth and in my speaking ♪ ♪ god be in my heart and in my thinking ♪ ♪ god be at mine end and in my departing ♪ . >> mr. president, let's tray that again. mr. president, madam vice president, distinguished guests all, elizabeth and robin, bob dole was a kansas native son. he' long with his hero dwight david eisenhower are kansas' favorite son, and they represent the vision and the promise of america. life in our state molded bob and ike, open prairies, wind, always the wind, wheat fields, agriculture where man is at the mercy of chance and weather but can still be confident in the dignity of his labor. bob's early life in russell, kansas, where the population hovered around 2,000, included the dust bowl and the great depression. bob characterized russell when addressing the russell high school graduating class of 1986. he said, there are two kinds of education in this world. there's one where you give yourself and another you get from others. if you get an education on the farm or in a factory or in a science lab and a church pew, most of all if you're from russell, you can get an education just by looking at life around you. when i was a boy, i doubt we knew the names of our congressmen or senators, but we were blessed to have friends and neighbors who knew and cared for one another. when times were tough, poem were tougher. when the winds howled and part of the prairie itself was blown away, i could barely see to deliver the newspapers on my paper route, but because i came from russell, because i came from kansas, i was granted a special vision, one which has seen me all the years since, one which you can rely on just the same, and he defined this kansas vision by saying my friends, i hope that you will never stop looking at stars. i hope you will never forgot our state motto, to the stars through difficulties. i hope that you will never stop believing in things you can not see. i hope that your future is as hospitable and beckoning as mine was when i stood on a seminar platform more than 40 years ago. i hope that in the making of life for yourselves, you won't neglect serving your country. most of all, i hope that wherever you go and whatever you do, russell will go with you, and for them i know that you will be well guided. and well guided he was in attaining his vision and embodying the promise of america. when we lost bob on sunday, there was a pause throughout the state of kansas as kansans from all walks of life stopped to reflect. bob dole was a person who meant something to everyone, in the coffee shop, the campaign trail, the halls of congress. whether we were in tone peka or abilene, bob dole would connect with people on all levels. he would share with them a vision, a promise, and he would help them to achieve, it just like the folks in russell did in supporting him. now, as a young staffer and later a member of the house of representatives following in senator dole's footsteps, i certainly understood bob dole's influence and power. on a thursday in 1983 he would be fighting to protect social security with president reagan, senator moynihan, others, in the white house, and then on saturday he would be listening to thelma in sharon springs, kansas, telling him that social security meant to her daily life and pocketbook, and when he returned to washington with that empathy of his and knowing kansas and knowing thelma, it enabled him to win the victories that he did for the disabled, for veterans, for the hungry or for any of the issues of the day that needed negotiation, steady compromise and the vision of america's promise. bob never lost his common sense and famous wit. it was embedded in his nature to deliver that punch line, deadpan, knowing, waiting for the room to light up, which it always did, for the barriers to come down, letting the air out of the partisan -- the partisan balloons. dole's manner and influence were so strong that if i were for something, people thought that bob was for something, and i never informed them or bob otherwise. [ laughter ] while the work we did was serious, it was a different time. there were light-heard times, too. i would call up his chief of staff and say where is my speech? and the scramble was off to get the leaders' remarks. they eventually figured it out it was roberts again, and i made sure moy staff didn't take calls from dole's office for the rest of the week. when his official public service came to an end, bob could have faded away with his dear elizabeth, telling stories, remembering the good ole days, but that was not his nature. there was still so much vision and promise, still so much he could do for his fellow veterans and for his nation. let everyone know without bob dole there would not be a world war ii memorial. bob also expressed at the time that there should also be a memorial to ike so that veterans could salute and thank their commanding general. that effort took 24 years, and, again, with bob's help, we dedicated theithe eisenhower memorial last year. bob dole understood that it was not just recognition that this greatest generation deserved. it was reflection and renewal, and it was for the greatest generation to inspire the next generation. there is no better display of division and promise of america than every weekend when the honor flights would roll up to the world war ii memorial, kansas veterans, escorted by kansas high school students, would visit their memorial to reflect on their fight to preserve a free world, and there was bob, shaking every hand, posing for every picture, listening to all the stories and the thanks -- the thanks of a still grateful nation. when elizabeth told us he had passed in his sleep, and whether he all knew that an era had come to an end, my first reaction was one of sadness and grief losing a dear friend and mentor, but then thinking about it, i think the good lord touched bob's hand and told him it was time to come home, see his folks, that there were quite a few world war ii veterans and some from korea and vietnam who were looking forward to thanking him as well as folks who were disabled, quite a few dog and cat lovers and quite a few folks from farm country still upset about something. [ laughter ] and a whole parcell of folks from kansas and all over, a lot of them republicans who say they voted for him and some democrats who say they should have, and then he said don't worry, bob. our heavenly gate are guarded by united states marines. so thank you, lord, for enabling us to live in such a time and space that gave the -- us the opportunity and privilege to know bob dole, a kansas star who truly shined through difficulty. >> mr. president, madam vice president, distinguished guests, elizabeth, robin, i'm honored. i've always thought that life has no blessing like that of a good friend, and to know bob was to know the truth of that statement. bob's friendship was a blessing that enriched my life beyond measure. his dedication to public service, his determination to keep washington and congress places of civility and his kindness to linda and mow made our friendship a blessing, as rich as life has to offer. when i arrived in the senate in 1987, bob was literally one of the very first people to reach out. we served on the finance and agriculture committees together, and almost from the beginning we seemed to have similar views on agriculture, nutrition, many other issues. bob faced the world, both its cruelties and its kindness with humility, with humanity, and, of course, with humor. i remember my very first appearance with bob after we were both elected leaders in 1994. it was at a reception where he noted that my election was received with great enthusiasm in farm country because for the first time you had two senate leaders from farm states. he said every farmer in america that very week ordered a new tractor. and bob set the bar for me and i suspect many others. when you share that story about when he first came to congress, a reporter asked what his agenda was going to be. he said i'm going to sit and watch for just a couple of days, and then i'm going to stand up and do what's right, and that's exactly what he did. as the president noted, he stood up for minorities early in his career. when he broke party ranks and voted for the landmark civil rights and voting rights act, he stood up for the elderly when he worked with mat moan han little rally to save social secure. he worked with the young young when he worked with my fellow, nutritionist, and he took up for the daneled when he works with tom kennedy and harkin on the americans with disabilities act, and, boy, did he stand up for his fellow veterans as pathologist noticed. as the chairman of the world war ii memorial campaign, i know from many conversations how important that accomplish was. he even recommend forkeding to me once. he thought about being buried that which would mean that would be his finley resting place. i think of bob every single time i finished. of course, those are all the hingesing that made bob dole great, but as bill rogers put it the in bunch of his care, it's great to be great but it's far greater to be huin in. almost everyone has heard the bob dole stories of amazing heroics and is recovering from injuries from world war ii. you know that bob cole called a florida dentist in 1993 to encourage him after losing his right arm and help him find a specialist to get a boss shuttic arm, and few people know the story about bob dole and the detour he took in his presidential campaign in 1996. he was in indianapolis, and he left the xin for a tour wiers to watch a young girl being paralyzed because of a car accident, or as pat already noted to bob sell who at those airport gates for honor flights, to treat veterans with a salute and i think you. he touched many many people through his small acts of kindness, including me. he told mow' lot when i game far keith. the teaching it at any time kept end. when i lost moy enext 2004, once february, bob was the very first to offer are me his as i as hence. he helped me find a speaker's bureau. he encouraged me to join him at his law firm. it's a decision i never regretted, in part because it gave me the opportunity to spend a lot more time with him. i can't help but think of the first time i said farewell to bob is when he left the senate in 1976. i remember he quoted a poem by sanberg. i toll you there's a puckett of ashes and i nile till you yesterday is going down, a sun dropped in the west. i they will you there is nothing in the world, only an ocean of tomorrows, a sky of many of forms. bob didn't always have an easy life. he faced some hards yesterday, physical certainly bosses. a draw he did lou he nefrlts list on of. he never lost his sense of integrity. he never lost his love for his hometown russ kell san sis or list deep, dope love-for-lizabeth and robin, and never lost his hope for tomorrow. his. pm. the things that make us us how nanl, the laughs we share. burdens that we bear can make us brate. . ♪ ♪ our father which art in heaven ♪ hallowed be thy name ♪ ♪ my kingdom come ♪ ♪ my will be done ♪ ♪ in earth as it is in heaven ♪ ♪ ♪ give us this day our daily bread ♪ ♪ and forgive us our debts as we forgive ours ♪ ♪ and lead us not into temptation ♪ ♪ but deliver from evil ♪ ♪ for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever ♪ ♪ amen ♪ i stand here with a heavy heart and also as a grateful and proud daughter. i have had an incredible 67 years with my dad. not many people get that time, and i'm so thankful. i will be brief today to help me make this through this and to make dad smile, because a lot of us in this room know how much he appreciated brevity. i want to start by thanking all of you for being with us today. i think i can speak for elizabeth when i say the outpouring of love and respect is so heartwarming. we are truly lifted by your presence. and thank you, mr. president, for your warm remarks. i'll always treasure your recent visit to dad and elizabeth and i at the watergate. it was wonderful, and i love listening to you share all your stories about the time you served together, and i want to say thank you to his extended family and now mine, former colleagues, former staff, current staff, members of his household, elizabeth's staff who i've gotten to know really well this last couple days, the brunch crew, all of his visitors and friends and family who called him regularly. he so enjoyed his time with all of you. and i want to say thank you to his medical team, and believe me it was quite a team, his team on the east coast and the west coastp, for your dedication and for giving us some wonderful years with dad, especially this last year. we can't thank you enough. finally, i want to thank his caregivers. i will be eternally grateful to you for providing extraordinary care and compassionate care to my dad and for always answering my many calls and texts with grace. there were a lot, believe me. the last years have been such a gift to me. i've felt so fortunate that i was able to spend hundreds of hours with my dad and talk to him almost every single night on the phone. we talked about everything under the sun. he told me things i never knew. he asked about my life, about my friends' lives. we made lots of calls to family, to former colleagues in the senate and in the house, to former staff. he shared shared feelings he had not shared before with many of these people. it was a wonderful experience for me to listen to these conversations and such a gift to them and to dad. my dad is the most generous person i have ever known. he was the giver, not a taker. he cared more about others than he did about himself. he told me, he set a personal goal to help at least one person every day of his life. then he said i'm not sure i've been able to meet my goal. i said, dad, you've got to be kidding. some days you help one person and other days you help 40,000 people. i think you've met and exceeded your goal. mike greenwell, you may be right," he said. there is no one who helped -- there is no one he helped more than me. he's always been there for me, through thick and through thin. he always had my back, even when i made mistakes, and believe me i made quite a few. he believes in giving second chances, and i know that firsthand. he was my rock. my dad was an animal lover, and we share that love. you've heard a lot about his work in animal welfare, but i would like to share a few personal stories about his love for animals. when i was a little girl, my cousins and i would visit his parents in russell every summer. grappled ma would often have an malls for us to play with. up year when i got home, i cried and cried because i didn't know what would happen to the little kitten that i played with and grew to love. dad left on a trip to kansas, and much to my surprise he brought the kitten home with him on the plane for me. we named the kitten rusty because he started in russell. recently i lost my dog cooper. dad was the first one to call me. he consoled me, and he said all the right things. the -- that support meant the world to me. soon, he began to encourage me to get another dog. quite frequently he encouraged me to get another dog, and i would tell him i just don't know if i'm red, but he kept encouraging me, and eventually he got me a puppy, and i wanted to name my puppy after dad, but, you know, i didn't want to name him bob. so i decided to name his jojo after his middle name, joseph, and we visited many, many times. dad always wanted me to bring jojo with me which wasn't always easy, but we did it, and -- and dad always wanted me, when i got there, to hold jojo up so he could get kisses from jo jovmt i would hold him up to his face, and dad always wanted elizabeth to get kisses, too, and jojo did a very good job spreading his love. dad and elizabeth's dogs, blazer and liter, were always trotting into his room. they loved to visit, but it was blazer who was the most concerned about him. blazer would lay at his feet whenever he suspected dad needed special nursing care, and i believe it really helped him because he loved them so much. when i was preparing to speak today, i learned about a farewell letter dad wrote with a former staff member. none of us neo-knew that he had written this letter. he swore him to seek circumstances and he kept a secret. the joke is you may move on to other jobs, but once you're a dole staffer, you're always a dole staffer, and a lot of people in this room know that. i would like to share in closing part of that letter, and i encourage you all to read it in its entiahrt. it has been released to the public as he wished. here are his words. as i make the final walk on my life's journey, i do so without fear because i know that i will again not be walking alone. i know that god will be walking with me. i also confess that i'm a bit curious to learn if i am correct in thinking that heaven will look a lot like kansas. and to see like others who have gone before me if i will still be able to vote in chicago. [ laughter ] i do have one request to make of you. since i was -- excuse me. since it was dedicated in 2004, it has been my honor to go as often as i could to the world war ii memorial here in washington, d.c. to welcome and thank the world war ii veterans and all veterans who are visiting there. since i won't be making that visit anymore, i hope that you will and that you will ask your children and grandchildren to visit veterans' memorials across america and to never forget the sec fielder's choice not made just by my generation but by all of those who wear the uniform of our country. my final words are the exact ones that dwight eisenhower used to conclude his speech in abilene nearly seven decades ago. i believe in the future of the united states of america. i will miss him so much. i think i will still talk to him every night. i love you, dad, and i promise you will never walk alone. thank you. ♪ ♪ ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound ♪ ♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪ ♪ i once was lost, but now i'm found ♪ ♪ was blind, but now i see ♪ ♪ it was grace that taught my heart to fear ♪ ♪ and grace my fears relieved ♪ ♪ how precious did that grace appear ♪ ♪ the hour i first believed ♪ the lord has promised good to me ♪ ♪ his word my hope secures ♪ ♪ he will my shield and portion be ♪ ♪ as long as life endures ♪ ♪ ♪ and his grace will lead me home ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ le ♪ readings from the new testament. one of the scribes came up and asked him which commandment is the first of all? jesus answered you shall love the lord, your god, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. the second is this. you shall love your neighbor as yourself. there is no other commandment greater than these. love is patient. love it kind. it does not envy. it does not boast. it is not proud. it is not rude. it is not self-seeking. it is not easily angered. it keeps no record of wrongs. love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. he who does not love, does not know god, for god is love. the word of the lord. >> praise be to god. >> mr. president, madam vice president, distinguished guests and dole staff, having served with senator dole for 20 years, i am honored to read a poem by linda ellis that senator dole often included in his speeches in later years. i believe we will hear in these words a description of the man, his life, whose leadership and his legacy we celebrate today. i read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. he referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning to the end. he noted, first, came the date of the birth and spoke the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between the ears. for that dash represents all the time that they spent life on earth and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth. for it matters not how much we own, the cars, the house, the cash. what matters is how we live and love hand how we spend our dash. so think about this long and hard, are there things you would like to change? for you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged. if we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real, and always try to understand the way that other people feel. be less quick to anger and show appreciation more, and love the people in our lives like we've never loved before. if we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile, remembering that this special dash might only last a little while. so when your you eulogy is bein left with your life's actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things of how you spent your dash? president biden, vice president harris, distinguished guests, beloved elizabeth, and thank you, robin, for reminding me that your dad loved brevity. i grew to love my brother in christ robert joseph dole. i'm entering my 19th year in the senate, and one of the high points, though i came after the honorable robert dole had left, was to meet elizabeth. elizabeth is one of the most ethically congruent people i know. to know you is to love you. i know the many phone calls and how i have been blessed by our friendship, your spirituality da dwarves my own, but it rubbed off on bob. i used to have fervent rendezvouses with bob in this cathedral, and so many memorial services he was here, sometimes pushed in a wheelchair, but i would at the end of the service bolt around the side of the cathedral for our rendezvous at the fore. we really got to know one another well, particularly when we were -- when i was able to work with him on the world war ii memorial and learned so much from this great patriot. as i listened to the readings i thought about him. what about an appropriate reading. for the old testament isaiah 40:31, they that wait own the lord shall we new their strength. they shall mount up with wings as eagles. run and not be weary. walk and not faint. i used to wonder did -- did we get that right? it seems that it should be run and not faint. walk and not be weary, but the pedestrian and prosaic movements of life can often push you to the point of fainting far more than those emergency moments with the adrenaline rush, and then what a beautiful passage for the new testament. love, understanding and creative and redemptive goodwill for humanity which describes the life and legacy of robert dole. i'm still working on calling him bob. i still can't do that. i remember, elizabeth, when you had the conversation and you said let me put bob on the phone and i had the beat fivic experience of having a conference call with spiritual royalty, and at the end i had a sense that bob knew he was cared for by a great shepard, so i would like to toss in another verse. psalm 23, verse 4. even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil for you are with me. your rod and your staff, they comfort me. i believe my beloved brother in christ knew he was cared for by a great shepherd, a shepherd who said in john 10:11 i am the food shepherd. the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. bob was a covert spiritual agent. he did not wear his religion on his sleeves. he resonated with the sentiment of francis of assisi. preach the gospel everywhere you go. when necessary, use words. he believed the sentiment of edgar guest. i would rather see your sermon than hear it any day. i'd rather it should walk with me than merely tell the way. this covert spiritual agent believed that he was cared for by a great shepherd who left the chance of cheubans and a rainbow-encircled throne in a land where night never comes to make a breakthrough at bethlehem, to see about bob, to see about you, to see about me, and he could say even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil for you are with me. he knew, i firmly believe, elizabeth, he knew that there was brevity, as robin put it, in that valley. i'm not going to be walking around in that valley. i'm not going to be having a picnic in that valley. ye though i walk, remember they will walk and not faint, ye though i walk through. it's temporary. he knew that he was not in that valley to stay. second corinthians 5:1 says if this earthly tent that we live in is destroyed, praise god, we have a building not made with hands eternal in the heavens. he knew that. he knew that there was light in the valley of shadows. you can not have shadows without light to project the shadow, and he could say with a salter in the 27th psalm the lord is my light and my salvation. whom then shall i fear? he served a savior that says i am the light of the world. but there was one other thing he knew. he knew -- he knew that there was comfort in that valley, and we've talked about this day coming. he knew there was comfort for us. that shepherd he loved so much and we loved once so much, matthew 11:27 and onward, come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laiden, and i will give you rest. take my yolk upon you and learn of me for i am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. for my yolk is easy. my burden is light. i remember when you told me that he died in his sleep, and i said what a transition, and those words of william cullen bryant immediately leaped to my mind for he was telling us how we should aspire to transition. he wrote "so live that when your summon comes to join that innumerable caravan where each must take his chamber in the solemn halls of death, go thou not like the quarry slave, scourge to his dungeon at night but sustained and soothed by an unfaltering trust. here it is. here's bob. approach thy grave as one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams. my brother in jesus christ, rest in peace. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ leal ♪ ♪ from war's alarms, from deadly pestilence ♪ ♪ be thy strong arm our ever sewer defense ♪ ♪ thy true religion in our hearts increase ♪ ♪ thy bountious goodness nourish us in ♪ ♪ ♪ refresh thy people on their soilsome way ♪ ♪ lead us from night to never-ending day ♪ ♪ fill all our lives with love and grace divine ♪ ♪ and glory, laud, and praise be ever thine ♪ for our brother, bob, let us pray to our lord jesus christ who said i am resurrection and i am life. lord, you consoled martha and mary in their distress. draw near to us who mourn for bob and detroit tears of those who weep. >> hear us, lord. >> you wept at the grave of lazarus, your friend. comfort us in our sorrow. you raised the death dead to life. give to our brother eternal life. >> hear us, lord. >> you promised paradise to the they have who repented. bring our brother to the joys of heaven. >> hear us, lord. >> our brother was washed in baptism and anointed with the holy spirit. give him fellowship with all your saints. >> hear us, lord. >> comfort us in our sorrows at the death of our brother, that our faith be our consolation and eternal life our hope. father of all, we pray to you for bob and for all those whom we love but see no longer. grant to them eternal rest. let light perpetual shine upon them. may his soul and the souls of all the departed through the mercy of god rest in peace. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ yes, we will gather by the river ♪ ♪ the beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ ♪ gather with the saints at the river ♪ ♪ that flows by the throne of god ♪ ♪ soon we will reach the shining river ♪ ♪ soon our pilgrimage will cease ♪ ♪ soon our happy hearts will quiver ♪ ♪ with the melody of peace ♪ ♪ yes, we will gather at river ♪ ♪ the beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ ♪ gather with the saints at the river ♪ ♪ that flows by the throne of god ♪ ♪ shall we gather at the river ♪ ♪ where bright angel feet have trod ♪ ♪ with its cruz at all tide forever ♪ ♪ flowing by the throne of god ♪ ♪ shall we gather the river ♪ >> give rest, o christ to your servant with your saints. >> where sorrow and pain are no more, the sign of life everlasting. >> you only are a mortal, the creator and maker of mankind, and we are mortal, formed of the earth and to earth shall we return. for so did you ordain when you created me saying you are dust and to dust you shall return. all of us go down to the dust, yet even at the grave we make our song alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. >> give rest, o christ to your servant and your saints. where sorrow and main are no more, but the sign of life everlasting. >> into your hands, oh, merciful savior we commend your servant, bob, acknowledge we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. receive him into the arms of your mercy and to the blessed rest of everlasting peace and into the glorious company of the saints in light. >> amen. >> now go forth into the world in peace. be strong and of good courage. hold fast to that which is good. render to no one evil for evil, but love the lord, your god. love your neighbor. love yourself. the blessing of god almighty the father, the son and the holy spirit, be on you and remain with you in this world in which we live, this day and forever more. amen. >> let us go forth in the name of christ. >> thanks be to god.