Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, several years ago, I ran into a former Member of the House and asked him whether he missed it. He answered: ``I don't miss the circus. I miss the clowns.'' Now that I am in my final days as a Member and have reflected on my 16 years here, I am going to tweak that line. I won't miss everything about the circus, and I will miss many but not all of the clowns. I also now understand why so many people are afraid of clowns. I definitely will miss speaking on the House floor, so I will use my last appearance in this historic space to talk about what I will and won't miss. I will miss the feeling that I am part of history, if not always history I would brag about. I will miss the constant reminder that I have served in the same body as Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, John Lewis, and so many other amazing Americans. I will miss the serious, thoughtful, and often noble discussions about how we can make a positive difference in the lives of so many Americans, even if we rarely make as big a difference as we would want. I will miss the give-and-take of policy debates, even though I know there was never a chance the debates would change anyone's mind. On the other hand, I won't miss the reality that most of our rhetorical firepower is preaching to our respective choirs and that too much of what we say comes from the devils and not the angels of our natures.…”