speech as lacking either, "soaringly memorable language or a thematic spine." However, he also opined that, by highlighting the issue of mutual trust government and the public, Dole articulated, "a rationale for his candidacy that had so often been missing on the campaign trail." The Chicago Tribune's editorial board, in its endorsement of Dole, hailed Dole's "eloquent" remarks against religious and racial intolerance. Jack Kemp's vice presidential nomination acceptance speech Jack Kemp, the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the George H. W. Bush Administration, gave his acceptance speech as the 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee. He would give his acceptance speech as the nominee, right before Bob Dole gave his acceptance speech for the Republican Presidential Nomination. Elizabeth Dole Presidential nominee Bob Dole's wife, Elizabeth, spoke at the convention. In tandem with his Democratic opponent Bill Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton, later speaking at the Democratic convention, 1996 became the year in which it became established practice that both major party candidates spouses speak at their party's convention. Susan Molinari's keynote address U.S. House of Representatives and Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, Susan Molinari, spoke at the convention, Molinari was elected vice chair of the Republican Conference in 1994. In 1996, party leaders chose Molinari to deliver the keynote address. George H. W. Bush Former president George H. W. Bush, who been unseated in the previous 1992 election, delivered a speech on the convention's opening night. Gerald Ford Former president Gerald Ford, who had selected Dole as his vice presidential running mate in the 1976 United States presidential election, delivered a short speech on the convention's opening night. Ford, in light of the Republican ticket trailing by double-digits in the polls at the time of the 1996 Republican National Convention, reminded voters that the 1976 Ford-Dole ticket gained 30 points in the polls before November 1976. In his remarks, Ford made an automobile pun, quipping, "a few years ago, when I suddenly found myself President, I said I was a Ford, not a Lincoln. Today, what we have in the White House is neither a Ford or a Lincoln. What we have is a convertible Dodge. Isn't it time for a trade-in?". Colin Powell Retired general Colin Powell delivered a speech on the convention's opening night. This was Powell's first major partisan political speech. Powell had only formally joined the Republican Party the previous year. Powell's