Bob Dole is the headliner at the "Take Back Our State" Rally today in Raleigh. He's an ironic choice: since 1996, he has taken the enormous political power given him by millions of voters, and sold it for cash from oppressive foreign leaders and oligopic foreign business interests.

If any bloggers can make the event, I have some questions for Dole about who who works for, what he is paid for, and whether or not he ever talks to his wife about his work.

Some questions for Bob Dole:

1. According to the Center for Public Integrity, the Indonesian government paid your firm over $1 million to lobby on its behalf between 2001 and 2005, requiring your personal day to day involvement as part of the contract. You agreed to facilitate meetings high-level meetings and “cultivate closer pesonal relationships” between Indonesian leaders and Members of Congress. Did you ever talk to your wife about Indonesia?

2. In the 2003 letter on file from Cyprus, the Cypriot embassy agreed to pay you $12,500/month for, in part, arranging meetings with key Republican leaders in Congress. Which key Republican leaders in Congress did you arrange meetings with? (From the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) website).

3. The Wall Street Journal reported on April 17, 2007 that:

“For a $560,000 fee, Bob Dole, the former Senate majority leader and 1996 Republican presidential nominee, helped a Russian billionaire accused by rivals of bribery obtain a visa to visit the U.S. in 2005, among other things.” Deripaska is the richest man in Russia, and very close to Putin. What exactly did you do for Deripaska?

4. How much has Oleg Deripaska paid you overall?

5. Who are your current foreign clients?

6. Have you ever talked about Cyprus with your wife?

7. Have you ever talked about foreign military aid with your wife?

8. Have you ever talked about Russian foreign policy with your wife?

9. Have you ever mentioned Oleg Deripaska’s name to your wife?

10. According to your website:

“Advising international clients, Senator Dole plays a critical role in clients’ relations with leaders in and outside of government. Senator Dole … assists clients in advancing their agendas on Capitol Hill.”

Why do you think foreign governments and businessmen pay so much for your services?

11. Several of your foreign contracts are not online, but only available at the Foreign Agents Registration Act office. Would you share those contracts directly with the people of North Carolina, so we do not need to go the FARA offices to find them?

12. Finally, and most seriously, this:

Senator Dole, why should I trust that when North Carolina interests clash with the interests of your very wealthy foreign clients from undemocratic countries, you would take your considerable influence to push the interest of North Carolinians? For whom do you want to take back our state?