Political Quotes

“today we welcome a new colleague to this body, former Governor, now Senator Zell Miller. We welcome Senator Miller at the same time that we mourn the passing of his predecessor, Paul Coverdell. So it is a bittersweet moment. Zell Miller isn't replacing Paul Coverdell. He can't be replaced, rather, I prefer to think he is following the footsteps of a consummate and formidable legislator. I worked closely with Senator Coverdell to move legislation when people thought legislation couldn't be moved. And I look forward to working with Senator Miller in that same vain. In thinking about what I would say about Senator Miller's arrival to the senate, I ran across a quote by the great Senator J. William Fulbright. He talked about what it takes to be both a legislator and an executive and I think it is a fitting characterization of the work of both Paul Coverdell and Zell Miller. Fulbright said: "The legislator is an indispensable guardian of our freedom." "It is true," he said, "that great executives have played a powerful role in the development of civilization, but such leaders appear sporadically, by chance. They do not always appear when they are most needed. The great executives have given inspiration and push to the advancement of human society, but it is the legislator who has given stability and continuity to that slow and painful progress." Zell Miller, to borrow Senator Fulbright's eloquent words, appeared in Georgia when he was most needed.…”