Political Quotes

“Madam President, I am here on the floor today to make what I consider to be a supercool announcement. I think my colleagues know well that I am a fan of the ``Last Great Race,'' the Iditarod. I am shameless in my promotion of not only the exceptional athleticism of the mushers themselves but the canine athletes. I say to the Presiding Officer--and as an athlete yourself--I think you can appreciate the endurance training that it takes to be a qualified and truly an exceptional athlete, and today we are able to celebrate an extraordinary musher and an extraordinary team. It was just a little over a week ago, last Sunday morning--well, actually it was Saturday--that I was in Anchorage for the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. It takes place downtown in Anchorage. We have to truck snow in. We close off all the downtown streets. Not too many cities actually bring the snow in, but we brought the snow in, dumped it around the streets, and closed the streets. Mushers come to town from all over the State, 49 mushers this year. They bring their sled dogs in. Along the sides of the chutes are thousands of Alaskans and thousands of visitors. The people come from around the country and around the world to launch these extraordinary teams down the street. Everybody is all bundled up. It was one of those days that was just picture perfect for the start of an Iditarod. There were big, huge snowflakes coming down, making everything white.…”