Political Quotes

“Mr. President, if you come to my office in the Russell Building, you will usually be greeted by one of the young and eager staffers who welcome visitors and answer the phones at the front desk. Every once in a while, you will find, instead, someone with a little more experience--my chief of staff, who has now about 30 years of Senate service in fact. David Lyles often takes time to sit at the front desk and to answer phone calls--not during the slower, easier days of a summer recess, but always, instead, when the constituent calls are the hottest and the heaviest. It is his way of staying connected to the flow of feedback coming into the office and of letting the staff know that everybody, from the most experienced staffer to the most recent college graduate, is responsible for responding to the people we all serve. But it is also his way of providing some relief to the pressure these young new staffers are under--particularly when answering the phone calls at various times when issues are very contentious. That hands-on approach is emblematic of David's leadership--leadership that has meant so much to my work in the Senate and to me personally. At the end of this week, when David Lyles retires from the Senate, we are going to miss his passion, his dedication, his South Carolina maxims, his encyclopedic knowledge of the Senate, Civil War history, and also his vast knowledge of the best bicycling routes in Northern Virginia.…”