Political Quotes

“one of the more challenging tasks for a Senator is not to stand in judgment of a bill or even a law or a policy but to stand in judgment of a person. I served in the House of Representatives for 14 years before coming to the Senate. It is the one dramatic difference between the two bodies. Time and again we are called on in the Senate, in our capacity to advise and consent to Presidential nominations, to stand in judgment of people. It is not an easy assignment. You have to, in a matter of a short period, maybe meet a person, read about their background, and try to think ahead whether they are ready for the job they are being sent to do. For some it is only a temporary assignment. It might be for a year or two or more in a Federal agency with an important responsibility. I look at those judgments and assignments seriously, but not nearly as seriously as the task of picking Federal judges. A Federal judge, that man or woman, is appointed for a lifetime. The decision you make about a person has to be done more carefully. There has to be more reflection. If questions are raised about a person, their judgment, their values, their background, their veracity, their integrity, those questions are taken more seriously because that judge on that bench will be the face of America's law for the rest of his or her natural life.”