Political Quotes

“there is one moment each year when America comes together, when the leader of our country, our President, in his State of the Union Address, speaks of our experience in the past, our history, and his vision of our Nation's future. It is a rare moment on Capitol Hill, House and Senate together on a bipartisan basis, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the diplomatic corps. It is quite a festive and historic--sometimes solemn--gathering. Tonight will be an opportunity for us to gather again for the State of the Union Address. I am looking forward to it. It comes at a moment in American history when there is a strong emotion across this country, a strong feeling about the war in Iraq. It is a feeling that was made even more intense by the events of this last weekend where we lost so many of our brave soldiers: a helicopter crash from the sky, lives were taken on the ground. At the end of the day, we had lost 3,059 of our best and bravest soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors in this war in Iraq. The President will speak of many things this evening. That is his responsibility--from energy to health care to education and beyond. But the issue most dominant in the minds of America is the issue of Iraq. It was certainly the most dominant issue in the November election when the message came through loudly and clearly that it was time to change, it was time for America to step back and reassess our role in Iraq and where we go from here.”