Cord Byrd: “With great pleasure, I call attention to a new Democrat's having been brought forth in this Congressional election year.…”

“With great pleasure, I call attention to a new Democrat's having been brought forth in this Congressional election year. With even greater pleasure, I point out that our distinguished majority leader has become a grandfather for the first time. This new Democrat, Henry Thomas Daschle, arrived with the angels last Friday. Being a Democrat, I always welcome a new member to our party. Being a grandfather, I know the joy and pleasure that a grandchild brings. There is nothing so wonderful as cradling in your arms a swaddled baby. It awakens in one so many emotions. It is a one-of-a-kind experience. A newborn fairy glows with freshness and the promise of the life to come. But a grandchild is beyond special, and the birth of one's first grandchild is an experience nearly beyond verbal description. The birth of one's own child is tempered by a certain apprehension. With this fragile baby, there also comes the responsibility of protecting and molding a tiny, dependant creature until adult status arrives. Parenthood is truly a delicate balance of bounteous love and serious responsibility. But to become a grandparent and to see oneself being projected on, on into the eons in the future, one has really reached his first plateau of immortality. It is a higher plateau. It is a completely different kind of experience. It is pure joy. As a grandparent, the diapers that one changes will be because one volunteers to change them. Won't have to do it. Somebody else can do it.”