Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am glad we are voting today on the President's choice for Secretary of Defense, our former colleague, Chuck Hagel. I stand here as a Senator who has had a number of questions as well about some of the things he said in the past, some of the votes he has cast, and some of his philosophy. And what I did, as soon as I learned he was the President's pick, was to ask those questions. Remember the President is the Commander in Chief. This is a critical appointment. It has to be someone he has faith in, puts his trust in, and he picked someone. He picked a brave hero who served in Vietnam. So I wrote all my questions down, and believe me, they covered some tough ground on women's rights, gay rights, Iran, and Israel. There were a number of questions. I asked if it would be all right if when the answers came we could put them online so people could see the answers. The answer that came back was absolutely yes. The answers to my questions were very clear and very strong. Senator Hagel has evolved on certain issues. He admitted to a mistake on a couple. That is the hardest thing for any politician to admit. There are four words politicians hate to say, ``I made a mistake.'' He admitted to that on a couple of issues. I just think the way he is being treated is so sad. It is so sad.…”