Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the 111th Congress will be recorded as one of the country's most historic. It will be rightfully remembered for the landmark legislation we passed to help our economy recover from recession and to help Americans afford to recover from health problems and for the passion that characterized the debates over many of these laws. But it will also be remembered for the replacement of remarkable Senators, under remarkable circumstances, by dedicated and devoted appointees. Two years ago, for the first time in half a century, the men elected President and the Vice President of the United States were sitting U.S. Senators. One year before the last time that happened, in 1959, Robert C. Byrd was sworn in for the first of his record nine consecutive full terms in this body. In the 111th Congress, three pairs of the biggest shoes in American history needed to be filled, three public servants were chosen to sit in the seats vacated by the President, the Vice President, and the longest serving Member of Congress. That has never happened before and will probably never happen again. Though Senators Edward Kaufman, Roland Burris, and Carte Goodwin were selected and not elected, none was content to be merely a footnote of history or the answer to a congressional trivia question. Each made the most of his time in the service of his State.…”