Senator for Sale: An Unauthorized Biography of Senator Bob Dole

Hilton, former Senate counsel and aide to Dole in 1979-80, has written a book so vitriolic that it will shock even Dole's foes. Dole suffered an arm wound during WWII, and because of the poor army medical treatment he also lost a kidney during his rehabilitation. He recovered, finished college and earned a law degree while a member of the Kansas legislature. Elected to Congress in 1960 and to the Senate in 1968, he became chairman of the Republican National Committee during Watergate and was known as Nixon's ``hatchet man.'' As the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1976, he helped seal President Ford's defeat by waging a disastrous campaign (``I went for the jugular-my own,'' admitted Dole). After losing inept campaigns for the presidential nomination in both 1980 and 1988, Dole settled into the job of senate Republican leader. The author alleges shakedowns of lobbyists and numerous shady financial dealings; scrutinizes what he claims are Dole's overly friendly relationships with corporations; accuses the senator of ``cozying up to Saddam Hussein'' before the Gulf War and slashing U.S. aid to Israel when organized American Jewry failed to contribute to his presidential run in 1988. If Dole's reputation for meanness is warranted, Hilton seems to have gotten a little too close to his subject. Photos not seen by PW. (Oct.)