While College faculty and students expressed surprise at Senator Bob Dole's (R-Kans.) decision to resign from the Senate, they said it may resuscitate his bid for the presidency.
President of the Conservative Union at Dartmouth Isaac Thorne '96 said while he anticipated Dole would relinquish his position as Senate majority leader, "it is pretty amazing he stepped down in general."
"I was surprised Dole gave up something he has been doing for so long," CUAD Vice President Mark Cicirelli '96 said. "But he will probably have a lot more time to be a better presidential candidate."
"It is difficult to be a majority leader and run for president at the same time," he added.
Director of the Rockefeller Center Linda Fowler, who coordinated Dartmouth's political polling during the New Hampshire primaries, said she too was surprised at the Senator's resignation, even though she predicted he would resign this summer.
Time to refine his vision
Many people said Dole's resignation will grant him time to concentrate on his presidential campaign and refine his presidential vision.
Fowler said Dole made the right decision. "Dole needs to spend more time raising money," Fowler said.
"Fund-raising is difficult to schedule if you have a full legislative calender," she added.
"I think he will be able to focus more on his campaign now," Sean Cunningham '97 said. "His legislative obligations have kept him too busy to focus thus far on campaigning."
Wendy Fleske '98 said as an intern for Dole last summer she witnessed firsthand how difficult it is to juggle the duties of the Senate majority leader while attempting to wage an effective presidential campaign.
Fleske said as Senate majority leader and a presidential candidate, Dole was required to be in two places as once.
"We would see him on TV in Burlington, Vt., and within hours he would have to be back in the office in Washington, D.C.," she said.
Fowler said she has been told Dole has difficulty delegating to his staff.
When you consider that mindset in light of his responsibilities as Senate majority leader, he faces irreconcilable time demands, she said.
One thing left to shoot for
Government Professor Constantine Spiliotes said he thinks Dole made an intelligent decision, considering his lengthy political career.
"At this point Dole has had a pretty long and distinguished career," he said, "This is a good risk to take now -- the presidency is the one thing he has left to shoot for."
"He probably wouldn't be a senator for that much longer any way," Spiliotes added.
"I think it was a spark that was really necessary," Cunningham said. "I think voters will perceive it as an indication that Dole is not solely a senator but someone who has his heart set on the presidency."
Thorne said Dole's decision to resign will relieve him of the negative connotations ascribed to his wheeling and dealing in Congress.
"It is probably good for his image that he keep away from being mixed up in muddling in the Congress," Thorne said. "He looked horrible this week mixed up in minutia of legislation."
Dole's resignation "keeps him from looking like he is a legislator and keeps him away from packaging together massive steamrolling positions no one can veto," Thorne said. "People are really negative on those things because they make him look like he is totally doing a bunch of horsetrading."
"I think his decision to resign was partly a reflection of the fact that being part of the republican majority of Congress is a real liability," Fowler said. "Democrats have had a lot of success with their new hyphenated Dole-Gingrich tab."
A step back
Students and faculty said it will be beneficial for Dole to remove himself from the Republican vs. Democrat wrangle.
Fowler said in order to succeed in his run for the presidency Dole should harness his coalition-building skills to his advantage.
"If he can use his coalition-building skills between now and the Republican National Convention to unify the Republican party" he might succeed.
"The convention is really a minefield for Dole," she said. "If it doesn't look like the party is behind him then" his decision to retire from Senate will not rescue his bid for the presidency.
He will be able to set up a clear platform that will not be subject to every day to media scrutiny in relation to his actions in Congress, Fleske said.
Many people agreed that Clinton would have to alter his campaign tactics in response to Dole's resignation.
Democrats are going to have to find another way" to attack Dole, Fowler said.
Cunningham said now in order to be successful Clinton must wage a battle against Dole, not against the Congressional Republicans."
