Tina Smith: “I would like to celebrate Vice President Walter Mondale, who recently marked his 90th birthday. When Vice President…”

“I would like to celebrate Vice President Walter Mondale, who recently marked his 90th birthday. When Vice President Mondale was asked about the legacy of the Carter administration, he responded this way: ``We told the truth, we obeyed the law and we kept the peace--and that's not bad.'' Not only was that description apt and characteristically humble, I submit that it captures Walter Mondale's values and virtues. First, Walter Mondale tells the truth. And aren't we so sorely in need of this today? Sometimes, when Mr. Mondale told the truth, it was painful. And sometimes, when he told the truth, he paid a political price. But truth in public service is a luminous thing, and Walter Mondale has always shone brightly. Honesty was taught early by his parents, Theodore, a Methodist minister, and Claribel, a music teacher. An old friend of Mondale's once observed that he would often ask, ``I wonder what my mother's going to think about that?'' Well, his mother did not see her son become Vice President and ambassador, and Reverend Mondale did not see him become attorney general and Senator, but I suspect, he thinks about them still. Second, Walter Mondale respects the rule of law and lives the rule of law. And aren't we so sorely in need of this today?…”