The news continues. Let's hand it over to Michael Smirconish and CNN tonight.

Anderson, thank you. I am Michael Smirconish. This is CNN Tonight. And first, a note about

this time slot. As you've certainly heard, Chris Cuomo is no longer with CNN, but our

job is to continue to bring you the news. And that's what we'll do tonight. You also know

that America lost one of the greats of the greatest generation yesterday, former Senate

majority leader, war hero, one time Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole will now lie

in state Thursday at the U.S. Capitol. But his passing was not the passing of just one

man. It's a metaphor for the demise of America's productive and civilized governing class. Think

about it. Is there a Bob Dole among us today in either party? Could a Bob Dole a model

of decorum get nominated in his party? No way. Which is why his passing should be reason

to hit the pause button. A reflection point as to what's changed since people like him ran

for office out of a sense of duty and obligation. Bob Dole ran to serve not to be considered

that Dole cast more than 12,000 votes in Congress. And while he was a loyal Republican,

he was not always predictable. Yes, he opposed many of the great society programs of President

LBJ. But he supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He

joined forces with Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1983 to save Social Security

from insolvency. And it was Dole who handed Ronald Reagan a veto-proof 78 votes to enshrine

Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday. In Dole's era, the way that you got

to stay in Washington was to buy your time, get reelected, establish seniority, get choice

committee assignments, and get things done. Today it's a lot easier and potentially quicker

to keep your job. You say something provocative. You get on cable television. You become a fundraising

magnet. In short, you act like a talk show host. Why spend time trying to pass complex legislation

...