Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it has been summed up here, and I want the Senator from Michigan to hear what has been summarized so meaningfully by all of our colleagues, because this is the best of this institution in terms of how it performs. It has been embodied here in the public service of Carl Levin for 36 years. What we have heard from testimonies on both sides of the aisle is that because of how he has conducted himself as an individual and how he has conducted himself as a public servant and how he has conducted himself as a leader in this Senate is an example of exactly how this institution is supposed to function. Isn't it rather symbolic that on the last couple of days of the session, the bill that will be passed is the bill Senator Levin has ushered through the Senate? He never broke tradition. He made sure the defense authorization bill was going to be passed by hammering out the differences with the House and shepherding it through the parliamentary process. And it has happened every year because of his extraordinary leadership. I will close simply by saying that because he is all of the things we have heard--the consummate gentleman, the humble public servant, his razor-sharp mind, and the best lawyer, by the way, in the entire Senate--because he is all of those things, he also is the embodiment of a Senator because when he gives someone his word, that is it. A person does not have to worry anymore.…”