SPEAKERS LIST: U.S. SENATOR NANCY KASSEBAUM (R-KS)

KASSEBAUM: Thank you very much. For the past 18 years, I've been proud to serve as the junior Senator from Kansas. Through all of those years, I've been equally proud to be the friend, colleague and partner of the senior Senator from Kansas and the Republican Leader of the Senate, Bob Dole.

When I first ran for the Senate in 1978, a woman candidate for high office was still a rare phenomenon. Some people believed a woman couldn't or shouldn't serve in the Senate. Bob Dole believed otherwise. And throughout my first campaign, Bob worked hard, sometimes even harder than I did, to help me win my seat.

From that early experience, I learned firsthand that Bob Dole is a person who makes things happen. He just doesn't talk about what should be done, he puts in the long hours, the hard work and the energy necessary to produce real change. For Bob, actions speak louder than words, and that's just the way we Kansans are.

(APPLAUSE)

As colleagues in the Senate, we formed a relationship based on mutual respect and mutual trust. We knew from the start that we disagreed on some issues. Fine. Bob Dole believes that honest people can disagree. But we also knew we shared the common goal of serving the people of Kansas and the people of America to the best of our abilities.

The real measure of a friendship is not merely the points of agreement, but the ability to disagree and still work together for the good of all. That's the kind of friendship that we have. And that is a friendship that flows directly from our shared roots in Kansas where family and community are not mere accidents at birth. They are the defining guideposts of life.

For Bob Dole, the guideposts began in the small town of Russell, on the high plains of western Kansas. In Russell, Bob grew up learning the values of hard work and personal initiative. To know Kansas is to know Bob Dole. We're very proud of that. And it wasn't an easy time. The Doles have not had great financial wealth.

KASSEBAUM: But they had a rock solid commitment to family and to building a better life, even in the hardest of times.

Bob's parents believed deeply in the American dream. And they worked tirelessly to make that dream a reality for their children.

When war broke out, Bob left college to enlist in the Army. He served with great distinction and paid the price that so many Americans have paid to defend freedom. His life was preserved, but his body was badly wounded.

Duty, honor, commitment -- these are the heartland values, and these values sometimes are forgotten or are forgettable. But Bob Dole has never forgotten them. They run deep in his mind and body and soul.

These are the sources of Bob Dole's steady, sensible leadership. These are values that guide his head and his heart.

(APPLAUSE)

I am proud to call Bob Dole my friend. All Americans will be proud to call Bob Dole our president.

(APPLAUSE)

It's now my great pleasure to introduce someone. Eighteen years ago, our next speaker was a commanding officer in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam, but tragically a land mine cut short his promising career. Yet he refused to quit.

With energy and determination he has become not only a leading voice for disabled Americans, but a shining example of all they can accomplish. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a great pleasure to introduce and please welcome Captain Chad Colley.

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