Political Quotes

“I'd like to thank the majority for bringing this bill up. This is a nice way to honor the longest-continuously-serving Speaker in the history of this country. For those of you who didn't have the pleasure of knowing Mr. O'Neill, I'd just like to remind everybody that I don't look at him as the historic figure up on the podium. I look at him as a man that I knew a fair amount of my adult life, anyway, and as a man who never forgot where he came from. And I know that's in a phrase that people hear all the time; but for me personally, when people say that of them, it's probably the nicest thing they can say. Everyone who serves in Congress knows that many of us on a regular basis get treated like something special. Somebody opens the door for us, somebody calls us ``Congressman,'' people we don't know call us ``sir.'' And that's all well and good, and it's respectful for the office. But at the same time, we all came here for the very simple reason of trying to make the world a little better place for the people that elected us. It's a simple thing. And we all have different views on how that gets done. Mr. O'Neill never forgot how to do that, even when he reached the pinnacle of power in this great body. And I will tell you that for me that's the most important historic aspect he could ever leave for us. All the great accomplishments, all the meetings with Presidents and Kings and Queens are very important.…”