A Declaration of Independence

G.O.P. Senators pick Dole to stand up to the White House

The setting was historically apt. Until the Civil War, the ornate and intimate Old Senate Chamber, its dark wooden desks arranged in semicircles, rang with the spirited oratory of Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. Last week, when the Senate's 53 Republicans gathered in the museum-like room to elect their leader for the next two years, the forensics were apparently no less rousing. Kansan Robert Dole claimed to be thoroughly persuaded by the speech his nominator, John Danforth of Missouri, made...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!