Political Quotes

“Mr. President, they say that baseball is the great American sport, and I am a fan. I love watching baseball games, especially the Cubs and the Cards and the White Sox in the region where I grew up. But possibly one of the greatest moments remembered in baseball actually didn't occur during a game; it occurred in 1939 when a baseball player by the name of Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees gave a famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. Gehrig was an amazing baseball player. Naturally, he is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was indestructible. His nickname was the ``Iron Horse''--so durable, so dependable. He was always there. In April of that year, 1939, he had removed himself from the game, saying he couldn't play any longer. Then, just a few weeks later, he made his famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. He was sick and suffering from a rare disease, known as ALS, but he stood up there in front of that microphone. We can still remember it in our mind's eye-- that black and white film--when he announced he was the luckiest man on Earth. He died 2 years later from ALS. The disease, because of his prominence and the public sentiment and profile, became known forever as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is still with us. It still is as virulent and deadly as it was in his time. I have come to know a number of people who have suffered from that disease.…”