On the recordDecember 17, 2010
tomorrow, we are going to have two important votes. I would go so far as to say they are historic. In the history of the United States of America, I do not know how many people have lived in this great Nation. Today there are more than 300 million. But if you added up all of those who lived in this great Nation since we became a nation, the number would probably be in the billions. In that period of time, only 2,000 men and women have had the honor of being U.S. Senators. It is a humbling statistic, for you, for me, for all of us, to think that we join with so few of our own fellow citizens who have this great opportunity and responsibility. In the desk drawers around the Senate are the names of the Senators who have served. Some of them are amazing: Daniel Webster, John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Mike Mansfield--the list goes on. But there are also many names that have faded into obscurity. You pull open the desk drawer and say: I do not recognize that name. I wonder who that was? One of two thousand I am going to presume served their State and Nation well but left no indelible mark on history. They did their job. That says something for each and every one of them who served here. But precious few of those 2,000 had a moment in history to do something historic.
