Bob Dole on Gingrich's temperament: 'Sometimes it's his way or the highway'

Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole said working with Newt Gingrich it's "sometimes his way or the highway."

Dole, who is backing Mitt Romney in the 2012 election, suggested Gingrich's personality has stayed much the same since his time in Washington: "Newt is Newt," he said.

Dole's second stint as the majority leader was in 1995 and 1996, two of the years Gingrich was the House Speaker.

"We had our good times and our bad times," Dole told CNN. "But, you know, Newt is Newt. And sometimes it's his way or the highway."

Dole suggested Gingrich should share some of the credit for his congressional accomplishments.

"I think some of Newt's statements, he's forgotten that Congress is composed of a House and a Senate," Dole said. "Senators had a lot to do with welfare reform and NAFTA and cutting taxes, bringing tax cuts. It wasn't just a one man show in the House of Representatives."

Dole, who endorsed Romney earlier this month, went on to suggest the former Massachusetts governor would do a better job at working with both parties and both chambers.

"Romney's goal is to represent the people, provide leadership for the people, just as he provided leadership as governor," Dole said.

Dole was the GOP presidential nominee in 1996, unsuccessfully challenging President Bill Clinton. He also ran in 1988, and won the Iowa caucuses both years. 

Dole said he thought either Ron Paul or Rick Santorum, who are both polling near the top of the field in Iowa, could "pull off a win in Iowa." They've both been working hard in the

state, he said.

But he predicted Paul would never be the Republican nominee for president. 

"His foreign policy is way out of the mainstream of the Republican Party," he said. "He may do well in Iowa. He's been surging along with Rick Santorum. But I don't believe after Iowa he'll be winning states."

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