Since locking up the GOP nomination in March, Bob Dole has battled unsuccessfully (most would say uninspirationally) to cut into a double-digit deficit in the polls to President Bill Clinton. That lead seems to be widening despite myriad scandals eating away at the president's credibility.

Bogged down by battles in the Senate, Dole dramatically announced his resignation in May, spurring hopes among his supporters that, away from Washington, Dole could find a voice and a vision to excite the electorate. It hasn't happened. Distracted by sideshow brawls over his statements on the addictiveness of tobacco, his position on repealing the assault weapons ban, and how the Republican abortion divide will be handled, Dole has frustrated campaign officials and GOP allies by his lack of focus and seeming inability to articulate a compelling vision for the country's future.

Not making things any easier, Dole has run up against federal spending limits after spending lavishly to defeat his primary foes. Meanwhile Clinton, with nearly $20 million in the bank, has hit the airwaves aggressively, helped by a $35-million labor campaign against Dole and congressional Republicans. The Dole campaign has downplayed the importance of the polls (while saying they're moving his way), and pinned hopes of a surge in support on Dole's choice of veep, his long-awaited economic plan, and increased public attention on the race this fall.

The Primary Season Dole took command of the GOP primary race on Super Tuesday, March 12, and, with his clean sweep of the March 19 Midwestern primaries, he clinched the Republican nomination, having won the necessary 996 delegates. But the way was never smooth.

Despite lining up countless endorsements among the GOP leadership and building a formidable campaign machine across the country, Dole was slow out of the starting gate. He won Iowa's caucuses only by a hair and then (gasp) lost New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary to Pat Buchanan. Dole seemed unfocused, perhaps destined to replay his 1988 fizzle after the poor New Hampshire showing. It didn't help that publisher Steve Forbes rebounded with wins in Delaware and, more importantly, Arizona. But Dole staved off complete embarrassment by picking up wins in the Dakotas.

From there, the race headed south for an all-important match-up against Pat Buchanan in South Carolina, a state that seemed ripe for another Buchanan revolt. Dole prevailed, strongly. After that, Dole quickly reestablished his front-runner status with huge wins on Junior Tuesday, in New York, on Super Tuesday, and finally, in the Midwestern states -- Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio.

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