Although Bob Dole and Richard Nixon worked closely together for years, the final chapter of their political association cannot be written until all of the White House tapes from the Nixon years are released.
But in December 1995 the National Archives offered fascinating fragments when it released a 50,000-page grab bag of classified documents on the Nixon administration.Those files showed that the White House was contemplating putting Dole to work digging up dirt on the president's political foes.
And stern letters from Dole, who was Republican National Committee chairman from 1971 to 1973, poured into the White House, sometimes daily, seeking patronage jobs for friends and constituents.
Dole was ultimately dismissed by Nixon as the national chairman. And presidential researchers expect the tapes to reveal that tense period in their relationship. A settlement between Nixon's estate and the National Archives will allow the tapes to be released gradually in the next few years.