Political Quotes

“Mr. President, America was alarmed to learn that Times Square was closed for business because of the potential of a bomb threat. A vehicle was discovered with smoke coming out of it. Some alert people on the sidewalks and vendors called it to the attention of police, and they determined the contents of that vehicle at least included the crude elements that could have resulted in a bomb killing many innocent people. All they had to go on was the vehicle itself and a fleeting glimpse of the person who might have been responsible leaving, changing his shirt as he left that vehicle. It was a frightening situation where many innocent people who were visiting our largest city in America could have been killed just as on 9/11. What happened? Fifty-three hours later, our government arrested the prime suspect, the man who has conceded he was responsible for that vehicle in Times Square--53 hours. I listened to some of the criticisms from those who come to the floor and say we should do this better, we should be more vigilant, we should change our approach. I would concede that we need to learn from every single incident how to make America safer, how to avoid those vehicles even being in Times Square in the first instance. But let's be honest-- to arrest the person responsible for it within 53 hours is an indication of some pretty good work by law enforcement and intelligence officials. Then comes the argument about Miranda rights.…”