Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise again, this time to thank my boys, now young men, for their love, support, and understanding during my time as a Member of Congress. As I stated yesterday, when I was sworn in for my first term in January 1997, David was 3 years old, Joshua was 1 year old. In 1999, Daniel was born. After completing this term, I will have served 24 years. My sons will be 28, 25, and 21, respectively. So their entire lives have been having their dad as a Member of Congress. I always joked that, in the early days, the boys were packageable. In the district, we just packed them up and hauled them around. Yes, this meant diapers, changes of clothes, Lunchables. Well, you get the idea. Yet they had a chance to visit county and State fairs. They also had to sit through more than their fair share of political dinners, and, oh, the parades in every season and in every weather condition. Fruities and Tootsie Rolls were our chosen candy. A child can only eat so many. As they grew, they started to be involved in other activities. I tried to be as supportive as possible. Whether it was recreational soccer, singing in the St. Louis Children's Choirs, Suzuki violin lessons, or activities at church and school, I tried to pick up the slack where and when I could. I am still burdened by the events missed. One particular troubling time was missing an entire baseball season.…”