9 May 1996

On the stump, Reagan, er, I mean, Dole is capable of moving audiences to tears — but just as capable of rambling, or undercutting his main point with a wisecrack. Reagan, um, that is, Dole, wont stick to his speeches. On April 21^st he spoke incoherently and put down little-known critics. When Dole was asked what he meant when he said he’d make a better father than Bill Clinton, he said: "I’m just repeating what the focus group said. Liberals, men, women, Democrats, Republicans, conservatives…" Syndicated columnist Robert Novak called the interview "the worst single television interview since Teddy Kennedy’s 1979 encounter with Roger Mudd."