Hello and welcome to the institute of politics. I am the coordinator of the student Advisory Board. Which is the official Student Organization of the Dole Institute. When senator dole agreed to have his records kept here at the university of kansas, he stressed the importance of involving students at the Dole Institute. I am pleased to report that the Dole Institute has an extremely active student Advisory Board and is experiencing record turnout at events, meetings and volunteering. Over 100 students attended our first kickoff event and attended our first meeting. As the student Advisory Board, we purchase of the in many activities, including event planning, discussion and community involvement. On behalf of the student Advisory Board, i have the honor of welcoming senator dole and senator kassebaum to the Dole Institute. Dole has long been a role model of my. During a time as a student and in turn, he has always been happy to meet me at his office in d. C. , or saying hello at the world war ii memorial. I have not met senator kassebaum before today, but i am so happy to meet her and welcome her here. Senator dole and senator kassebaum are not only giants of the senate, but are examples of the best that our country has to offer. Before we begin, i would like to remind you to turn off your cell phones. If you need hearing assistance at any time, please alert a Staff Members student volunteer. During the question and answer period, please raise your hand and ask for a microphone. Now it is with great pleasure that i introduce this doctor. Thank you cody. Good evening and welcome to the Dole Institute. Giants of the senate, with senators bob dole and Nancy Kassebaum. Todays interview will be conducted by the director of the Dole Institute, bill lacy. There is not enough time to recognize the immediate special guests and donors. Thank you all for joining us and thank you for your support of the Dole Institute. Todays guests are both giants of kansas politics, and own a combined 53 years of service in the United States congress. Hailing from russell kansas, senator bob dole was a world dust was a veteran and began his career in Public Service in 1950. In 1968 he was elected to the United States senate where he would represent the state of kansas for 28 years. He reserved he was elected Senate Majority leader and served as his partys leader until 1996. Making him the longest serving republican leader in the history of the u. S. Senate. Senator nancy casaubon was born in topeka, kansas. She won an election to the u. S. Senate in 1978 and was the only woman in the 100 Member Senate upon her rivals that year. She was a prominent member of many Senate Committees are including serving as a Senior Member of the Foreign Relations committee and becoming the first woman to chair a major senate committee. She represented the state of kansas for nearly two decades in the senate. Under senator dole and senator kassebaum, kansas was in good hands. Ladies and gentlemen, it is an absolute pleasure for me to welcome the former united date senators, robert dole and Nancy Kassebaum. Give them a warm welcome. [applause] bill senators dole and nancy casaubon, thank you for being with us and welcome back to the Dole Institute. It is great to have you. Do we have everybodys microphone on . Former senator dole not fair, they all got a mic. Former senator kassebaum hello. Lets start with a question for you bill but start with a question for you, could you tell us about your upbringing, your education and what led you to a career of a big service. Former senator kassebaum i never dreamed i would be running for United States senator, or running for office. I grew up in topeka and spent a lot of time hiking over to the coral river. At that. Of time when i was growing up, at that period of time when i was growing up, my parents did not believe in swimming in the river. It was that and walking the railroad tracks. I had a good time campaigning. In those times you could tack up posters, now you cannot do that. That was great fun, going around and tacking the campaign posters. I would do that for other candidates when i was going up. I remember will d roosevelt in 1940, my neighbor and i thought it would be great josh we did not have very many neighbors we did not have very many neighbors. We would yell wilke or roosevelt and that way we could decide how the election would come out. Former senator dole now it is either trump or, what is the other one, clinton. [laughter] bill tell us about that first race he had in 1978. Former senator kassebaum there was a lot of us, i think seven in total. I was very fortunate to have gone to ku where i could call on people that i knew. I got in late, but if it if they were helping someone else, they would suggest someone else that i could see for the campaign. I also had four children at kansas state. I was able to go to school and 0get helpers in the campaign. Great volunteers, i could not have one without volunteers. It was enjoyable, it was a close race, but that is how i won with good volunteers who really helped all the time. Former senator dole you won because he deserved it. Former senator kassebaum well bobby you pave the way. Bill what were your feelings when senator kassebaum was elected, knowing she would be one of your colleagues . Former senator dole i was very happy, we had a great relationship. We were proud to be traditional, kansas, republican conservatives, which mean we understood to get things done, you have ds and rs but nancy and i also had friends on both sides. [applause] former senator dole you develop a trust when you get to know someone. When you trust each other, you can talk to each other about how can we work this out, how can we settle this so we can pass this bill. Nancy did a better job at that than i did. I learned a lot from her, and im learned a lot from howard baker. He was my mentor, he was the majority in 1981 reagan slept us into the majority into the senate and the house and he had been tempered to the finance committee for 17 years. Suddenly i became chairman of the finance committee. I remember once they called the roll, they always tell you the last one, and he said mr. Chairman and the voters. I thought i was the chairman. [laughter] he was a wonderful guy, he has the right attitude. He knew to have sense to not call each other names. I want to think the chancellor for all the help they had given the Dole Institute, which i think is an asset to ku. [applause] bill you are one of the first women elected to senate in your own right. Can you talk a little bit and you also were the first to chair a major committee. Did you talk about the challenges you faced as a woman going into the senate with having only one trailblazer trailblazer and how that might be different for challenges that women in Public Service face today. Former senator kassebaum i think there are different challenges for both men and women, as bob touched on, but i always said i was elected to be a senator, not just a senator for women. I thought it was important to be able to show that we are all there addressing in many ways, the same issues. If i spent a lot of time worrying about whether or not i was being taken seriously, i would be wasting a lot of my time. You could worry, there is a Senate Dining room and there is only a Senate Dining room. There is the republican table and the democratic table. I must have been there half a year before i went through that door. Maybe you took me bob. It was not that i was afraid to go, i just wasnt sure if i wanted to bother. [laughter] former senator kassebaum they wouldnt tell me dirty jokes. Simpson said he had to clear his jokes through his wife. I think i would have to say bill that the problems now are different, but they are significant. For both of us, the worry is that people are not willing to work across the aisle. You do not spend the time as your committee chairman, and a lot of shrink lies in those committee chairman. As finance chairman you had tremendous power, but you always worked with the entire committee. It was the chairman who really exercised that initially, i think today. But when i chair, which is now called the health committee, which is a silly name. [laughter] former senator kassebaum it was the old Labor Committee and handles health issues. Ted kennedy was either major or minor leader, and we worked back and forth together. I had some people ask how did i work with ted kennedy . You can when you care about the issues, and he did in health care. I think today, what really is a concern is that people do not have trust, or respect, and even root respect for those who and even respect for those who might disagree with you all of the time. There has to be something that you feel is important in that respect. We are really lacking it today, and i think that is why so many people say i am so tired of this yelling and shouting so we may not vote. That is unfortunate too. That is a longer answer than you wanted, but it leads me to what i think is a real issue today. Maybe trying to understand why there is such discontent in the public. Why people feel nobody is paying any attention, nothing is getting done. I can tell you when bob was leader, we were in the senate 18 years together, but bob was leader for six of those years. Former senator dole i thought i was leader even after i left. [laughter] former senator kassebaum maybe it was, you took over in 1984 and i did not leave till 86. You still work. Then howard was leader for four years. I cite you bowled really work with your committees chairman. You made sure you pointed out and you were working together. I think that is what we need to instill again. Bill i would like to ask both of you, and i will start with you. Name a couple of three leaders that you work with that you really admire. Former senator kassebaum well, bob. [laughter] former senator kassebaum and that is true. And howard, yes of course, howard. Howard however, after i married him i told him i would never call him leader again. [laughter] former senator kassebaum he also had a rule that i could not believe, and i might share with you, but i grew up and we always talked at the dinner table about Public Affairs and what was going on. Dad like to talk about local gossip in the state as well as national. It was he who did most of the talking. We all sat around the table and we exchanged. Howard came to visit the family in 1996, right at the time of the democrat convention. We were all arguing about that and someone said, so howard what you think about the convention . He said it is my rule that we do not talk politics or religion at the dinner table. So i set will what you talk about . [laughter] former senator kassebaum i really have to say, i worked with a lot of colleagues, sometimes but i admired and i think we all had a fairly convenient time at that time. He followed you after you step down and 96, trent lott. Former senator dole i thought i was going to be president. [laughter] former senator kassebaum we all did. Former senator dole it was too late for a recount. [laughter] former senator kassebaum anyways, i tell you who i miss and disagreed with. President reagan, i have been in the room with him when he was trying to talk about something that we did not agree with on, but he always managed to find some way to end the conversation in an upbeat way. I really miss that today. I really miss that sense of energy, enthusiasm, and hope that things could be worked through. Certainly, you who are leaders here at the universe at the university, have to know that that is needed and it takes time, patience and dedication that i do not think many are willing to give in Congress Today. I am very disappointed to say that in the congress. It is easy to say now that i am not there. [applause] bill could you mention a couple of leaders that you really admire . Former senator dole me . [laughter] former senator dole howard baker, as i said earlier, i learned a lot from howard. Because of the way he dealt with people. I dont care what ever you do, if you are not surrounded by friends, you have far in your life to go. I think when nancy and i were there, we had as many democratic friends as we did republican friends. I would go over on the democratic side and sit down with one of the democrat that we would not talk politics, we would talk about wherever they were from and where i was from, our families. I do not think that is totally gone, i think there have been 40 bills at least in the Senate Passed which were bipartisan. I think it is starting to come back a little, not as much as it should, but i think there is the recognition. At least that has been my experience of 36 years in congress, some say that was too long and others thought i should run again. Those two people are gone. [laughter] former senator dole nancy and i, i want to get back to Nancy Kassebaum was always the most popular politician in kansas. I was 30 or 40 points behind. Former senator kassebaum you always exaggerate. [laughter] former senator dole no, its true. Nancy had a way about her. She was certainly willing to engage people. If you are going to be good at anything, you have to learn to listen. People have problems, and you have some politicians who are just going through town havent learned anything yourself. We had town meetings where people could come to town meetings, and we would speak, then we would take questions. People would say bob i have a little problem. I was a good, ill give it to nancy as soon as i get back. [laughter] former senator dole i think it is improving, a little bit. Former senator kassebaum let me ask you bob. In our day there, we had not set up an email system yet either. I knew it was time for me to leave when they said they would email all of the senators. I do not have one yet, that is true. [laughter] former senator kassebaum but think of everybody that tweets today, that is how people get to hear things. It just goes out instantly, that is how donald trump got where he is. He tweets everybody. [laughter] former senator kassebaum thats why i former senator dole thats why i started tweeting in 1992. There would be a tweet today about me and you. Former senator kassebaum who is going to tweak that, are you . Bill they will do it for sure out of the Dole Institute. [laughter] bill during the 1988 and 1996 campaigns, i remember being in senator doles office a lot or it i would always run into senator kassebaum. I always enjoyed that because some of your colleagues were not always agreeable to staff of president ial campaign. Senator kassebaum was always eat a light. You guys worked together very closely. Could you talk about some of the things you worked together on . Former senator kassebaum i will give you one example. The americans for disability act, because this is the 50th anniversary year . Oh gosh. That was very controversial. It went through finance committee, a winter the committee i was on. Several Different Committee said jurisdictions for different part of that bill. Bob was majority leader, and i would have to say today, i saw him call people into the office, all of the chairman, all of the members of that committee that were intricately involved in that legislation, and i do not think it would have worked if it had not been for bob as a majority leader. He called us all together, people would argue upper down. Up or down. You tell a story of someone who is getting a bad time to everybody, didnt you tell them to get up and leave . Former senator dole no, there was a republican and we had a conference and i was trying to get votes. You cannot win unless you have votes, and he was very contrary. He thought i was a big zirpal, so i said to you want to be the leader . If you do, lets have a vote right now. Come up, we will have the conference vote. He sat down and i did not hear much from him afterwards. [laughter] former senator kassebaum but that is an example i think, of one issue that i know where there was a lot of controversy, not controversy but people were concerned about an aspect of the bill. It just that kind of leadership as majority leader, and his dedication to it to make it work. Former senator dole that is one that i worked with ted kennedy. Former senator kassebaum that is true. Former senator dole if you want to work with kennedy, you have to be prepared. He always had an excellent staff. My view is, you are never better than your staff. That is true at ku, or anywhere else. If you have a good staff, you will get the credit and they will do a lot of the work. Martin luther king holiday bill, thurman was chairman of the committee and i remember we took the bill up and he said bob would you watch this for me for a while . Ted kennedy was on his side, i did not see thurman for three days. Both ted and i worked out the Martin Luther king holiday bill, the republicans do not get much credit for. Nancy and i i think have a perfect civil rights record. I do not understand people that do not see each of us as americans are regardless of ethnicity, background, or whatever. It was really a great experience, and it would not have happened without a lot of the people in this room, and the same with nancy. Those who supported us. You cannot win unless you have people in every county, and Douglas County is a tough one. [laughter] former senator dole working for you. People who voted for me in Douglas County are still alive. [laughter] former senator dole we have protection for them. [laughter] former senator dole they are they are all my friends. I will just keep working on it. Bill senator, would you take a moment to describe one or two pieces of legislation that you