Bob Dole believed in hard work, not words

WHENEVER HE STEPPED out in public or entertained in private, Bob Dole carried a pen in his right hand. Always a black felt-tip. It looked purposeful, as if he meant to take notes. In fact, it was to stop well-wishers trying to shake his hand. Every day he went through the ritual of pushing the pen between his right thumb and forefinger, then folding the other fingers round the shaft. All with his left hand, which just about worked. His right hand and arm could do nothing at all. Not after that day in Italy in 1945 when, as a young lieutenant, he had been told to take Hill 913 and German fire had smashed his shoulder away.