Nixon's Champion

"I want to be resourceful," says Senator Robert Dole, 46. After last week, none of his colleagues doubts that he is. Seeking to seize the initiative on the peace issue, the Kansas conservative pulled off a legislative coup that left the Democrats dumbfounded. Aware that Senators J. William Fulbright and Charles Mathias were planning to propose the repeal of the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, he stole the issue out from under the doves by offering it himself. Fulbright was outraged by the theft and voted against the repeal because the manner in which it was offered was "meaningless." To Dole's satisfaction and amusement, the repeal passed easily, 81 to 10. "Everyone's thieving in the Senate," Dole said. "You've got to hang on to the ball, or someone else will pick it up."

A former Congressman, Dole has not only hung on to the ball, but has also carried it for the Administration ever since he moved up to the Senate last year after seven years in the House. Convinced that the President needed more vocal support within his own party, Dole provided it. He played an active role in the battle for the ABM program last summer and, despite his reservations about the President's choices, went down the line for the White House on the Supreme Court nominations of Clement Haynsworth and G. Harrold Carswell.

Much of Dole's loyalty to the President dates back to 1964, when Richard Nixon came to Kansas to campaign for him in a hotly contested congressional election. Dole squeaked back into office and credits Nixon with an assist for his narrow victory. But Dole's support for Nixon's Viet Nam policy is political, not personal. "What do you do if you're a Republican and support the President, and you're convinced that he's getting out of Viet Nam?" he asks. His actions in the fight over the Cooper-Church amendment answer his question. Dole has been in the forefront of the battle to water down the amendment and stave off a Senate showdown until after the President's June 30 deadline for withdrawing U.S. troops from Cambodia.

Long Way. A tough, ambitious man, Dole has come a long way to his role of Nixon's champion. As a second lieutenant with the 10th Mountain Division, he was severely wounded in Italy during World War II, and spent more than three years in Army hospitals. Unable to use his partially paralyzed right arm, he got through college and law school with the help of his wife, Phyllis, an occupational therapist who took his notes and wrote down his answers to examination questions. He has since taught himself to write with his left hand. He began his politica1 career in the Kansas state legislature, served four terms as a county attorney before seeking his first House seat in 1960.

Now, Dole's perseverance and loyalty are beginning to pay off. Nixon, recognizing Dole's efforts on his behalf, has sent him several "Dear Bob" letters to express his appreciation. His Republican Senate colleagues are considering a greater--and, for a first-term Senator, almost unprecedented --reward. As impressed with Dole's aggressiveness as they are dissatisfied with Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott's frequent failure to back up the Administration, G.O.P. conservatives are quietly maneuvering to oust Scott and give the senior position to Freshman Dole.

The honor is not without its political hazards, and Dole is mindful of his junior status and the traditions of the Senate club. As he observed of his Tonkin

Gulf coup: "I hope we don't offend the older members. You don't want to become a gadfly in the Senate and lose the respect of your colleagues. We are elected. We do have the responsibility. 1 do to my President."

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