Read My Lips: "America Needs Bob Dole"

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine: Putting aside a long and bitter rivalry, and praising Bob Dole's "courage, decency and common sense," former President George Bush declared on Friday that he is ready to do what Dole asks in his quest for the the White House. Past slights seemed forgotten during the Friday meeting, as Bush, tan and relaxed, talked politics and strategy with Dole over lunch. Speaking to the press later, Bush praised Dole's Senate record and said his promise of help this fall was a way of returing some of the many political favors Dole had performed over the years. Fumbling with grammar that seems little improved after four years away from public office, Bush promised reporters: "my heart lies at the Dole level." The former President also offered a pointed warning on election-time tax promises. Probably recalling the trouble his 1988 "no new taxes" pitch caused in 1992, Bush said he was confident Dole could press Clinton on taxes without hitting political turbulence, "if he plays it right." -->