Political Quotes

“Mr. President, this has been a hard week in the Senate as we have said goodbye. As we have just seen in the remarks of the majority leader, retirements are very difficult. Parting with the company of honored and treasured colleagues in the Senate is as hard as it is anywhere in the world, but we have had some particularly difficult moments earlier today. We assembled in the Rotunda of this great building of the Capitol to celebrate the life of one of our greatest colleagues, Senator Dan Inouye of Hawaii. His desk sits draped in black, and his chair has a lei that was flown in from his home State of Hawaii. This week we have all felt and known the change in the Chamber. The Senate has lost a giant and America has lost a hero. Danny Inouye was truly a great man, and I feel blessed in my 2 years here to have had the opportunity to sit with him over a private lunch, to joke with him occasionally in the anteroom, and to learn something of his spirit and his personality. He had such a big heart and a wonderfully gracious spirit. Most of the Senators I have had the honor to come to know in these 2 years I only knew from a great distance as a local elected official or as someone in the business community at home in Delaware. When I asked Senator Inouye to lunch, I was intimidated.…”