This was in the Chicago Tribune today in the editorial section
I have to say, I agree with the guy.
DOLE AND VIAGRA
Tim Driscoll
March 17, 1999
WHEELING, W.Va. -- I consider Bob Dole's use of his name to peddle Viagra disgustingly undignified, given his reputation as arguably the premier senatorial statesman of the past quarter century. I cannot understand why in the world Dole, now 75, would decide to serve out his declining years as a pitchman for such a controversial product. It's sad to think that Mr. Dole would choose to close out his career as--of all things--a sexual potency pill-pusher.
What I find most despicable about Dole's television ads is the perverse phoniness of their high-toned approach. Many comparisons have been drawn between politicians of Mr. Dole's generation and those of Bill Clinton's. The point virtually all of them make is that Mr. Dole's contemporaries were made of more honest, sincere stuff. Although I agree that the Baby Boomers, as a whole, appear to be a bunch of telegenic phonies, Mr. Dole has certainly bested them at their guileful game in the service of Pfizer Inc.
And while Mr. Clinton's sexual mishaps have undoubtedly lowered the moral tone of politics, I'd have to say that his shenanigans are no worse than Mr. Dole's greed in prostituting a lifetime of political renown in the interests of a drug corporation, especially considering that his endorsement will doubtlessly compound the already widespread overuse and abuse of this product and the resulting adverse health effects now being reported.
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