Grassley critical of Senators who’re away while running for president

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley stops short of outright scolding the Democrat senators who are running for president, but he says you can’t be both a good senator and a good candidate. Grassley says his colleague Bob Graham of Florida “came up short” in the fundraising area and likely made a wise decision to drop out if the race last night. Grassley says Graham “raised five-million dollars but regardless, money was a problem and you can’t run for president if you don’t have the ability to raise money.” Grassley, a Republican, says he never urges anyone to run for president, and tells those who do run that they’re in for a very tough road. Grassley tells those who see his advice to only run if they have the full support of their family and if they don’t have to spend their own money. Grassley says he’s very dedicated to being a U.S. senator and was put in office by the people of Iowa to serve there, not to run for a higher office while trying to serve. Grassley says “Most of these candidates don’t come to the Senate at all. We’ve been operating with about 95 members while five are out campaigning for president. Maybe he’s decided he better concentrate on being a good senator. I’ve always said that I would never run for president because you have to choose between being a good senator or being a good candidate.” Grassley says former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas was the rare exception who did a good job of being a good presidential candidate and a good senator, making 95-percent of the votes in the Senate while doing heavy campaigning.