Political Quotes

“I too come here tonight to honor my good friend Chairman Oberstar, and I honor him for all that he is and all that he's not. Chairman Oberstar is definitely a pursuer of excellence. Everything he does, he does it to the highest level, and he realizes how important excellence is. I have talked to his staff. I've worked with him, and his staff tells me that if a comma is out of place, they've got a problem. And that's so very significant because one of the things that he talks often about is how we have moved in our country in so many ways to cultures of mediocrity, and we have to get away from that. And so he is a pursuer of excellence. But he also is a builder. He's not only a builder of bridges and roads, but he is a builder of people. And I am one who has benefited from his handiwork. I will never forget when he and I were working on several projects and I, as chairman of the Coast Guard Subcommittee, he constantly showed me the way to be a stronger and a better chairman. He always had high expectations of me. And because of my respect for him, I wanted to be better, and I became better. And I know that I will go to my grave being thankful for the way he has touched my life. Finally, he is a visionary. He doesn't worry so much about the next election. He worried more about the next generation. He understood that the bridges still had to stand when he is long gone.”