Johnny Isakson: “it is an honor for me to come to the floor of the Senate and talk for a minute about my friend Thad Cochran. I know…”

“it is an honor for me to come to the floor of the Senate and talk for a minute about my friend Thad Cochran. I know everybody has probably said everything that needs to be said; just everybody hasn't said it yet. Kind of in the vein of what Senator Blunt said, everybody says the same thing about Senator Cochran: He is gracious, smart, gentle, effective, and a great colleague. I want to tell my colleagues about Thad Cochran. When I came to the Senate 14 years ago, I had served in every legislative body I could be elected to where I live. I served in the Georgia House, the Georgia Senate, the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate--all representative legislative bodies. In each one of them, I got some advice. My first year in the Georgia House, 41 years ago, I got some very good advice. A good friend of mine said: Johnny, I will tell you what you do. The first year you are here, don't say a word. Just watch everybody talk. Watch what everybody else does. Look at people you would like to be like, and for the remainder of your career, be like that person, because in the end, this business is about relationships and effectiveness, not about bluster and bragging. I did pick out a guy; his name was Carl Harrison. Carl Harrison has since passed away, but he was one of the best friends I have ever had in life. I watched him in the Georgia Legislature, and I patterned myself after Carl Harrison, and the success I had was because I followed a great leader like him.…”