Bob Dole endorses Jeb Bush

“I will do all I can to be helpful to Jeb’s campaign”.

Bush got a big political slap on the back himself Wednesday with the endorsement from Dole, a former Republican USA senator from Kansas who twice won Iowa’s first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses in 1988 and 1996.

Announced on Veterans Day, Dole will also serve as national veterans chairman for the Bush campaign. He was the party’s presidential nominee in 1996, but he lost by 8 percentage points to Bill Clinton.

He cited Bush’s “conservative reform agenda and forward looking vision” on economic growth, combatting the Islamic State group and veterans’ issues, which he said were better than Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s.

‘I endorsed Jeb Bush today at the veterans ceremony, ‘ Dole said, surrounded by reporters, according to MSNBC. “Jeb has the proven leadership skills and executive experience needed to fix the problems facing our country – from the anemic economy to America’s weakened standing among world leaders”, Dole said in a statement released by the Bush campaign.

In 1980, both men sought the presidency, but the nomination would eventually go to Ronald Reagan, who picked Bush as his running-mate.

In 1976, Dole was added to President Gerald Ford’s ticket, a coveted spot that the senior Bush reportedly wanted.

Asked about the significance of Dole’s endorsement by Fox News, Bush responded, “Oh my gosh, Bob Dole is an American hero”. Nearly certainly Dole’s choice, the establishment Jeb!, if nominated, would join the growing list of “electable” Republicans who never made it to 1600. Donald Trump and Ben Carson, neither of whom have held elective office, are also far ahead of Bush in the polls.