Political Quotes

“the day after the tsunami, I had the opportunity to meet with scores of people from Southeast Asia. There were people from Sri Lanka. The person who put the event together was from Bangladesh. We had people from Thailand, India, many people. It was an event in my honor. They had bought out a restaurant that night. It was a festive occasion, but there was a pall over what we were doing as a result of the tsunami that had taken place. This tsunami was so difficult. These people in Reno, NV, had come to our country for the opportunity to realize their hopes and dreams. Each one of them love America, but of course they also feel an abiding love for their native lands and cultures. I have trouble comprehending the power of nature. I read that the earthquake that took place was a million times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Nagasaki--not one thousand times, a million times. It was so powerful it threw off the Earth's rotation. This was a powerful act of nature. In today's world, there is no such thing as an isolated event. It hit 11 countries. We are all connected to those countries. One hundred or so years ago that wouldn't have been the case. Fifty years ago it would have been less the case. The earthquake that caused the deadly tsunami was estimated at 9.0 on the Richter Scale. It was first picked up in Hawaii. They thought it was 8.0. I thought to myself, 8, 9, is that a big difference? It is 100 times different.”