Bob Dole was a good sport about Norm Macdonald impersonating him on SNL, while Macdonald considered Dole "my hero"

Los Angeles Times

Shortly after losing the 1996 presidential election, Dole -- who died Sunday at age 98, three months after Macdonald died of cancer -- joined Macdonald on Saturday Night Live's cold open. Macdonald jokingly encouraged Dole to run for president again so he could continue playing him on SNL. “It would be good for me,” Macdonald quipped. “Kind of help keep you on the front pages, you know?” “Well, believe me, Norm,” Dole said, “running for president doesn’t always keep you on the front pages, unless you, of course, take a dive off of a podium.” Dole was referring to the time he took a tumble on the campaign trail. In a 1996 appearance on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Macdonald said of Dole: "He’s my hero...He’s been my hero for a long time. ... And you know what he did? He gave me his Purple Heart. He has two Purple Hearts, you know. And so, when we were doing it, he put a Purple Heart on my lapel because he had one on his lapel. It was very moving.”