Political Quotes

“I thank the leader. I will share it with you, and I appreciate the indulgence. Again, I speak on behalf of not only John Baker as a great athlete but his canine athletes. When the mushers leave out of the start in Willow, they leave with about 16 dogs on the team. These are remarkable animals that love nothing more than to be on the trail and to be mushing. His team demonstrated a resolve and a commitment and a dedication to not only their musher, Mr. Baker, but to what the whole sport of dog mushing is all about. For those who follow the Iditarod Trail, you know this is not for the weak. This is over exceptionally rugged terrain, oftentimes in exceptionally rugged circumstances where you have Arctic winds howling down off the coast, blizzards that provide for whiteouts, going down passes that cause encounters that flip you over and break sleds and break bones. It is not for the timid. But Alaska brings out some exceptional individuals. There were 62 teams that mushed from Willow to Nome this year. They are still out there on the trail as we speak. We wish those who are still coming in well along the way. We had some accidents, but there is never an Iditarod when we do not seem to have Mother Nature intervening in one way or another. The good news for us is that those who have had a happenstance, whether it was a broken collarbone or a happenstance with a knife, those men are doing fine and the dogs, again, are coming in and doing fine.…”