Tom Harkin: “A most painful farewell will be to my good friend Senator Tom Daschle. I do not know that I have heard a more heartfelt…”

“A most painful farewell will be to my good friend Senator Tom Daschle. I do not know that I have heard a more heartfelt, soul-searching, and inspirational speech about what a Senator should be, ought to be, and must be than the speech given by our great leader Senator Daschle earlier this evening. As I sat and listened to that speech, especially when he talked about Dick Reiners, my mind went back to 1978 when I was just a second-term Congressman from the State of Iowa and I was asked to go campaign in South Dakota for this young guy running for the House whose name was Tom Daschle. His former employer, Senator Jim Abourezk, came to Iowa to campaign for me and asked me to reciprocate. Because I had been active in some farm issues and agricultural issues, he asked me to campaign in South Dakota, and I did. I struck up a friendship with Tom Daschle at that point that endures to this day and will endure forever.”