John Kerry: “last night in New York City, Karl Rove made some comments to the Conservative Party of New York that need to be…”

“last night in New York City, Karl Rove made some comments to the Conservative Party of New York that need to be discussed on this floor and for which an apology is needed. None of us here will ever forget the hours after September 11, the frantic calls to our families after we evacuated the Capitol, the evacuations themselves, the images on television, and then the remarkable response of the American people as we came together as one to answer the attack on our homeland. I remember being in a leadership meeting just off the Chamber here at the moment that the plane hit the Pentagon and we saw the plume of smoke. Then the word came from the White House that they were evacuating and that we should evacuate. I will never forget the anger I felt as we walked out of here, numbers of people running across the street, and I turned to somebody else walking with us and I said, ``We're at war.'' That was the reaction of the American people. That was the reaction of everybody in the Senate and Congress. We drew strength when our firefighters ran upstairs in New York City and risked their lives so that other people could live. When rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon, we took heart at their courage. When the men and women of flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our Nation's Capitol, when flags were hanging from front porches all across America and strangers became friends, it brought out the best of all of us in America.…”