Bob Dole: “I rise today to pay tribute to a Washington legend who passed away yesterday. George Tames was an award-winning…”

“I rise today to pay tribute to a Washington legend who passed away yesterday. George Tames was an award-winning photographer, a giant in the news business, and a fixture for years at the White House and on Capitol Hill. He was also a friend. Most people may not have known this native Washingtonian, but they certainly knew George Tames' work. For more than 40 years, readers of the New York Times saw life in Washington, and 10 Presidents, through the lens of George's camera. Many of his finest photographs are contained in George's 1990 memoir ``Eye on Washington: Presidents Who Have Known Me.'' And many of us were fortunate enough not only to know George's extraordinary work, but to know the man behind the camera. The key to George's success--aside from his tremendous talent--was the charm, wit, and ability to tell a good story that earned him unusual access, everywhere from the Oval Office to Capitol Hill. But perhaps the greatest tribute to George came from his colleagues and sometime competitors. Cornell Capa, a former Life magazine photographer, once said of George Tames: ``He's the champion. He beats everybody.'' Mr. President, I am proud to have known George Tames, and I am proud to have pictures he took hanging in my office. I know all my colleagues join me in sending our most heartfelt sympathies to George's wife, Frances, and to their five children.”