John Kerry: “let me begin by paying my respect to the Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, who has for several years now on the…”

“let me begin by paying my respect to the Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, who has for several years now on the subject of Iraq been perhaps the most forceful and eloquent and prescient Member of the Senate with respect to the events there. He has been consistent. He has been strong. All Members in the Senate are enormously respectful of his voice and his leadership on this issue. I know for the Senator from West Virginia, the years I have been here, there has been no more stalwart, dedicated, reliable defender of America's interests anywhere in the world. There has been no one who has stood up more for our young men and women in uniform. I know this journey he has taken with respect to his feelings about the war were not easy, and they were contrary in some ways to that long record on the surface. But it is when you get below the surface and look at some of the continuity of his thinking about the Constitution, about our obligations as Senators, and about the fundamental reasons why you send young men and women to fight anywhere that you see that, indeed, what he is fighting for now is as consistent with what he has fought for throughout his record and career in the Senate. I thank him for that and pay my respect to him.”