Political Quotes

“I must tell you that there is a piece of me that says keep the system the way it is, because it is awful hard to beat me the way the system is. There is a Senator we used to know who was very powerful here. I would say, ``Senator, how in the Lord's name did you get that person to contribute to me?'' He said he told them, ``It's not so much what Biden can do for you; it's what Biden can do to you.'' The truth of the matter is, if you are here and you have gained seniority and you are in a good position--better in the majority than the minority--it is a lot easier for you to stay if you are challenged. So I have to admit to you that I know if I ever prevail in making sure everybody running has the same amount of money, or by practically making it low enough so everybody could raise the same amount of money--I might say, ``Oh, my God, what have I done?'' But it is the right thing to do. I don't have a lot of hope that we can do it. I thought when I got here in the midst of Watergate that maybe that episode would shock us into doing something serious--and we did it, until the Supreme Court overruled it. I hope we take advantage of the current situation and have the courage to act at a time when the spotlight is going to be on not only potentially illegal, but clearly unseemly, aspects of how these funds are raised. I want to make it clear that I am not suggesting that I am any better or worse than anybody else in this body.”