Political Quotes

“when you cannot attack a man's ideas, attack the man. Sadly, that is what we have seen over the last few days in the case of Richard Clarke, a dedicated public servant. Before this week, few Americans knew who Mr. Clarke was. But now, according to this morning's Washington Post, 9 out of 10 people in America know who Richard Clarke is. Those who did know Mr. Clarke knew him as a person who has devoted his entire adult life to serving his country and keeping our country safe. As a distinguished Senator, Bob Kerrey said yesterday--and he knows a thing or two about patriotism--Clarke did many things to keep this country safe, that none of us will ever know about. That is the nature of counterterrorism. Mr. Clarke has served four Presidents--three Republicans and one Democrat. In fact, he called the first President Bush the best national security professional he had ever worked for. That goes to the very basic knowledge that President Bush, among his other assets, was also head of the Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Clarke worked in the State Department, and then led the counterterrorism effort in the White House for more than 10 years. This is how important he was and how much confidence everyone had in his abilities: On the day of the tragedy of September 11, he was put in charge--I repeat, put in charge--of coordinating the White House response.”