Political Quotes

“The old book says if you owe debts, pay debts; if honor, then honor; if respect, then respect. And when I heard that the gentleman from Arizona had organized a modest tribute to the 43rd President of the United States today on the House floor, I felt this was such a moment to pay a debt of honor and gratitude to a man with whom I did not always agree and as I sometimes would joke at home, he almost always noticed. The time as a freshman I opposed the President's signature legislation, No Child Left Behind, the time I and other Republicans opposed other signature bills like the Medicare prescription drug entitlement, this was a President who would let you know when he had a difference of opinion, but always respectfully and never spitefully. So I stand here today not as a vacuous apologist for George W. Bush. I have occasionally been referred to as a thorn in the flesh to the Bush administration, being a cheerful conservative on Capitol Hill who was fighting against big government spending during the Bush years, but I come here today, among other cherished colleagues, like the gentleman from Iowa, simply to say I truly believe that this Nation owes a debt of gratitude to George W. Bush.”