Political Quotes

“I apologize for Senators having to wait for me. I want to begin by saying I support this legislation. I commend the work of the managers of the bill, Senator Cochran and Senator Byrd. I understand how essential this bill is to our troops who are risking their lives and, of course, to the tsunami victims who are struggling to rebuild their lives. The conference report, though, comes up short on two issues: Iraq and, of course, immigration--short of what the world rightly expects from the most free nation in the world, and short of what Americans should expect from their elected leaders is what is written all over this conference report. Starting with Iraq, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff recently said that the insurgency is as strong today as it was a year ago. The recent upsurge in violence and unrest in Iraq seems to bear out that remarkable and very troubling conclusion. Yet the administration acts as if the situation in Iraq is essentially under control and the remaining difficulties are Iraq's problems. The unfortunate truth seems to be that more than 2 years after President Bush declared the end of major combat operations--remember ``mission accomplished''--Iraq has a limited capacity to defend itself or govern itself. Even worse, the administration has no real plan to help Iraq acquire that capacity.…”