Tony Thurmond: “I can say that he is one of the ablest and finest leaders that this country has ever had serving in the Congress of the…”

“I can say that he is one of the ablest and finest leaders that this country has ever had serving in the Congress of the United States. He is a man of principle. He stands for what is right. He felt it his duty, since he is going to run for President, to give his full attention to that campaign. He felt he could not do both, look after the Senate's work and run for President, too. Unlike some people who have attempted to do both, he will give up all of the power in the Senate. He, as the majority leader here, has served the longest term, I believe, of any majority leader in history. He has made a fine record. He will give all that up because he wants to do his duty and feels he could not run for President and also look after his duties here in the Senate. He knows what responsibility means. He felt he could not be responsible to run in the campaign and run the Senate, too. So what did he do? Since he is going to run for President, he decided to resign from the U.S. Senate. He is giving up all of his power, as probably the most influential Member of the U.S. Senate, in his position as majority leader, and as an able Senator giving it all up. How many people would do that?”