Max Cleland: “I rise today to reflect on a 6 year term in the Senate which has been simultaneously the most challenging, yet most…”

“I rise today to reflect on a 6 year term in the Senate which has been simultaneously the most challenging, yet most rewarding, experience of my life. I have had the chance to realize a lifelong dream by following in the footsteps of one of my personal my heroes, Senator Richard Russell of Georgia. I have been able to represent the state I love in an institution I revere. And I have been able to add my voice to the others that have risen before me in this chamber, from William Fulbright to Harry Truman to John Kennedy to Everett Dirksen to so many other outstanding men and women of history. In my Senate office, I have surrounded myself with small reminders of the men I most admire. I sit at Richard Russell's desk. On my walls, I have photographs of just two people. President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Theirs were no ordinary times, and we can safely say now, neither are ours. After the Pentagon was attacked on September 11th, I looked at FDR's picture and finally understood the gravity of his day of infamy, because this generation now had one of its own. I have used Churchill's and Roosevelt's examples of strength and courage to make it through every day in this town. Some days have been better than others, but every one has been a gift because this has been the life of my dreams.”