Hal Rogers: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I will not be lengthy, but I will be very serious. There are very few people that…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I will not be lengthy, but I will be very serious. There are very few people that I have served with in this body these 34 years for me who has more respect and more friends than Doc Hastings. We are personal friends. We are professional friends. And when our wives are back home, we frequently have dinner together, and we talk a lot of politics, we talk about things going on at home, talk about things going on here in this body and the world. There is nobody more knowledgeable of politics in America than Doc Hastings. He knows every congressional district. He knows the politics of that district, and that makes for some great, great conversation. But I think the most important thing that I could say about Doc Hastings is his character, the character that he possesses. Someone once said that ``Character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.'' I have seen, time and again, Doc faced with an opportunity, perhaps, that would have meant taking advantage of someone or not doing the right thing, and he always does the right thing. And so that character, that inner being that radiates out to the world, comes through that balding head and reaches out to the world. Most people don't realize that Doc Hastings is one of the biggest NASCAR fans in America. He travels to watch the cars. And of course, most of those started out in the South and still principally are.…”