Barney Frank: “sometimes the cliches come true. I thought about that when I got a phone call last night telling me the death of Millie…”

“sometimes the cliches come true. I thought about that when I got a phone call last night telling me the death of Millie O'Neill. I was profoundly sorry. She was an extraordinary woman of warmth and strength and humor, a genuine believer in and participant in this American political system through the real partnership she had with her husband, the late Speaker Tip O'Neill. All of the cliches we summon up about the partnership of marriage, about a woman who could combine toughness when it was appropriate with gentleness at other times, all of those Millie O'Neill exemplified. I had a great privilege when I came here in 1981 as a Member of the House from Massachusetts. I became, particularly as a Massachusetts Member, but not only those of us from Massachusetts, a member of that extended family that the O'Neills presided over.”