W. Todd Akin: “Thank you, Congressman Kline. And thank you for providing this opportunity for a number of us to make several points.…”

“Thank you, Congressman Kline. And thank you for providing this opportunity for a number of us to make several points. The first that I would make would be to show a respect for General Pace for his 40 years of service. I have two sons who are graduates of the Naval Academy, one who is returning from his second visit to the Middle East as an officer and as a Marine, and another who is just going off to his basic school this July. And I have a third son at the Naval Academy who hopefully will be graduating in another couple of years, and he might also choose the Marines as well. So I have a respect for the Marines just from what I have learned from my own sons, and particularly as a Congressman, having watched and had a chance to observe General Pace's leadership. We are here partly this evening, in talking on this subject, because General Pace is not being renominated by Secretary Gates and the President. And he is not being renominated primarily because of concerns about his political correctness. In fact, a certain prominent Democrat in the other body has criticized Pace because he is 'not in touch.' Now, that is a significant concern to me. My own personal background, while I was in the Army some, has been more in the business world. But any organization can atrophy if the organization makes an effort to fill the organization with yes-men, with people who don't have the courage to speak up and to speak their opinions.”