Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise along with my colleague from Illinois, our senior Senator, Mr. Durbin, and, of course, Senator Rockefeller, related to the Percy family, to eulogize Senator Percy, whom he we lost on Saturday--a great and one of the most successful Illinois Senators. Senator Percy dedicated much of his life to serving our Nation, first in the U.S. Navy and then for 18 years in the Senate. I think I am the only Member of the Senate who actually voted for Senator Percy and volunteered in his campaign, along with my mom, when I was only 12 years old. Senator Percy, we knew, was a focused and disciplined leader, who succeeded at nearly everything he put his mind to. He graduated from my alma mater, New Trier High School, and also lived in Kenilworth, IL, my hometown. He later, after graduating from New Trier, went to the University of Chicago. After getting a bachelor's degree in economics, he joined a small camera company called Bell & Howell. He then led Bell & Howell, starting at the age of only 29, into making military cameras and movie projectors and then a new product called microfilm. As the leader of Bell & Howell, he was one of our greatest job engines of the State of Illinois. Employment grew 12 times under his leadership and earnings 32 times. But Charles Percy wanted to do more for his country. As we heard, at the request of President Eisenhower, he helped write ``Better Decisions For America'' as part of the Republican platform of 1960.…”