Political Quotes

“this is a sad day. It saddens me that we have to be here today debating this issue. Politics in America can be bitter. Campaigns can divide people and breed resentment. That is a given. It also used to be a given that once a campaign was over the winner claimed victory, the loser accepted defeat, everybody else went on with their lives, and the country moved forward. Now, unfortunately, it seems the bitterness and resentments do not end with the campaign. Instead, the divisions are stoked by individuals who simply do not like the results. The curious thing about this challenge today is that it is taking place in spite of the fact that the losing candidate has admitted defeat. I have to applaud John Kerry for the gracious and magnanimous speech that he made the day after the election where he acknowledged he had been beaten. He also called for unity. I wish those bringing this challenge had heeded his call. I know there are some problems obviously with this election. They are not frivolous. These problems were not unique, however, or confined to Ohio. Nor were they limited just to Democratic voters. There is no such thing as a perfect election. There has not been. There never will be a perfect election. The question, then, is not whether or not mistakes were made. Of course they were. The question is did those mistakes affect the outcome of this election? The answer is no. No serious person, no objective observer, could claim that they did today.”