Bill Bennett: “I join with my colleagues rising not to bury Jesse Helms but to praise him. We can take Shakespeare and turn him on his…”

“I join with my colleagues rising not to bury Jesse Helms but to praise him. We can take Shakespeare and turn him on his head for just a moment. I find it interesting that there are some people in the press gallery. That is not very often the case in this situation, in this circumstance in the Senate. I welcome the presence of reporters who will pay attention now as Senators talk about Jesse Helms, because the press, for Jesse's entire political career, has made a caricature of this man, outlined him as some kind of a demon, some kind of an anti-intellectual, some kind of a throwback to an earlier time, and that the body politic would be best served if somehow he could be removed from it. He has demonstrated his appeal to the voters of his State and has stoutly resisted the attempts of those to remove him from politics. Now he has decided that the time for retirement has come. He is leaving at the top of his game and on his own terms.”