When he ran against Clinton, he had arguably more power in his position in the Senate. I recall reading an article that privately, many Democratic congressional representatives preferred him over WJC because he was good at his Senate duties. I don't think a lot of people remember - or realize- that things were not as polarized then.

(My private theory is that is due to the fact that the majority of people serving in Congress at the time came of age during WWII- there was a common thread of experience but also that it did not matter what your background was; the banker's son was drafted alongside the farmer's son and the farmer's son could easily outrank the banker's son and vice versa. They learned to work together at an early age because their lives depended upon it. When JFK was lauded for his actions during the PT-109 incident, he was very modest - "uh, I was just trying to stay alive." It did not matter he was raised in privilege. When your boat is cut in half by a Japanese destroyer in the middle of the Pacific, dying is dying. Doesn't matter who you were before that.)

But back to Dole: he gave up the job to run. He didn't keep it in his back pocket as a 'just in case' I respected him for that.