Mark Dayton: “let me preface my intended remarks. I seldom have occasion to take exception to the remarks made by the very…”

“let me preface my intended remarks. I seldom have occasion to take exception to the remarks made by the very distinguished chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on which I am honored to serve, but I must say that I respectfully disagree with the modesty by which he characterized himself as anything less than one of the real greats in the Senate. In my estimation, the Senator from Virginia ranks up among the greats of the Senate from the beginning of our Nation's proud heritage and through the years. I believe the Senator has now completed 25 years of extraordinary service on behalf of not only the citizens of Virginia but also the citizens of Minnesota and the citizens of this country. When I was one-hundredth in Senate seniority for my first 2 years, I had some doubts about the worth of the seniority system. I was dissuaded whenever I would see the Senator from Virginia, Mr. Warner, act as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, then as its ranking member, and now as chairman again, of that most important committee.”