Political Quotes

“I thank the Senator, and I particularly want to thank Senator Casey for his steadfast, dogged perseverance in pursuit of this issue. He has stayed with it. He has advocated for it. He has been persistent and persuasive, and I just want to thank you. You have really exemplified what this body should be all about. It should care about the American people and should take steps to alleviate their pain. When they are in trouble, they have a friend in Pennsylvania. The people of America have a friend in Pennsylvania, and I deeply appreciate it. Madam President, I used to teach a course in college called Leaders and Leadership. I used case studies of different people, and it was a very eclectic group. It ranged from Ernest Shackleton to Joshua Chamberlain, to Winston Churchill, to Margaret Thatcher, and to a guy named Jack Welch who was the President of General Electric and one of the great business leaders of the late 20th and early 21st century. One of Jack Welch's favorite quotes, which is also one of my favorites, is that ``the essence of leadership is to look reality in the eye and then do something about it''--``look reality in the eye and then do something about it.'' I want to talk about some realities this afternoon. The reality is that we are an aging population. Ten thousand people a day qualify for Medicare--10,000 people a day. We are an aging population. My State of Maine is, in fact, the oldest State in America. How old are we? Our junior Senator is 77.…”