Political Quotes

“I want to take a minute to say what came to my mind over the weekend about Japan. Prime Minister Kan of Japan described this earthquake and tsunami as the worst thing to happen to Japan since World War II. I suppose what struck me and struck probably a lot of other Americans was, of course, Japan and the United States were at war with each other in World War II. Today, the U.S.-Japanese relationship is extremely close. I believe we don't have a better, more steadfast ally in Asia than the Japanese people. It is part of why I hope the people of Japan understand that the people of the United States are with them at this moment in which they suffer so from this natural disaster, and we will do everything we can to help them. They are a proud people, but now they can't handle this all alone. We want to help them. We are a proud people. I want to share with my colleagues a conversation I had with the gentleman who was serving in the American Embassy in Tokyo at the time of Hurricane Katrina. He told me yesterday the Japanese people lined up outside our embassy in Tokyo after they heard about, watched films of Hurricane Katrina, to offer help, whatever they could offer. One private citizen of Japan, unannounced, arrived at the embassy and wrote out a private check for $1 million for Hurricane Katrina relief. This is the closeness of the relationship.…”