Political Quotes

“I can't match the eloquent statements about Tom that have been made by my colleagues; but I thought I might share just a few thoughts that came to my mind, not only today, but every day that I saw Tom Lantos. First, he was a guy of extreme competence. And if you wanted to get to the heart of a matter quickly, and you wanted to probe a situation in foreign affairs quickly, or a matter of national policy, and you had a national leader, international leader in front of you, and Tom Lantos was asking questions, he did a great cross-examination. And he brought the facts out very quickly. But, you know, lots of people can do that. There were some special qualities that Tom Lantos had that reflected and illuminated his life and always impressed me every time I saw him. One was his great dignity. He walked in dignity. And it wasn't a pride; it wasn't an egotistical thing. It was a respect for his fellow man that emanated from him and seemed to illuminate the room when he walked in, and when he took his place, and when he asked questions, and when he worked on these important issues of the day. He was a man of great principle.”