Political Quotes

“It is now my privilege to yield 2 minutes to another long- time fighter for health care for Americans, Mr. McDermott of Washington. (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, a very famous Republican 100 years ago proposed that we have national health insurance in this country. And he also said this--his name was Teddy Roosevelt by the way--``It's not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man or woman stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. ``The credit belongs to the man or the woman who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.'' {time} 1450 Now, I have been here for 23 years, and since the Republicans defeated the efforts of the Clintons in 1993-1994, I have waited for 16 years for my cold and timid friends to make one proposal that will deal with the preexisting condition question.…”