Political Quotes

“I came to the floor yesterday minutes after Irene--Senator Inouye's wife--confirmed the death of her husband, my friend, a friend of all of us here. I was, frankly, very emotional and announced to the Senate and the country the death of one of the Senate's all-time greats. So today, upon contemplation and reflection, I am going to say a little bit more about Senator Inouye. His personal friendship I valued so very, very much. He was a colleague but really a friend. He helped me so many times. He helped me to do my best here. My best has been with the help of him. As I mentioned briefly yesterday, he always had so much confidence in me. Years ago, when I was a Senator struggling, as all Senators here, he told me two decades ago I would be running the Senate someday. I never even contemplated, thought about, or desired that. Things worked out that he was right. Senator Inouye, one of the finest men I have ever known, was a real American hero. My friend who is on the Senate floor, the assistant leader, has heard me talk about my mentor, Michael Callahan, who taught me in high school, helped me with money as I was going to law school, and he was on a pension. He was a disabled veteran. He was such a good friend of mine. He and Senator Inouye were friends. They talked about what it is like to not have a limb. While Callahan's was a leg, Inouye's was an arm.…”