Howard Metzenbaum: “Mr. President, I rise in support of the President's nomination of Strobe Talbott for the post of Deputy Secretary of…”

“Mr. President, I rise in support of the President's nomination of Strobe Talbott for the post of Deputy Secretary of State. This is the No. 2 post in the State Department. Under any circumstances, this is a nomination that deserves to be debated. The Senate would be shirking its duty if it were to give this nomination pro forma examination, and then approve it late at night by unanimous consent. Mr. President, there has been no lack of talk about Strobe Talbott's nomination. But I wonder how much of this talk has been the type of debate contemplated by the advice and consent clause of the Constitution. I wonder what this discussion has really been about. Mr. President, it seems that Strobe Talbott has the unfortunate distinction of being a convenient target for partisan mud-slinging. Frankly, I have heard much invective regarding this nomination. But I have heard very little debate. Mr. President, there have been all sorts of charges thrown at Strobe Talbott. If we took his accusers at their word, we could neatly sum up Strobe Talbott as a rabid anti-Semite, and indiscriminate Israel-basher, a diplomatic nincompoop, and managerial moron. And with respect to Russia, we could label him as little more than a Boris Yeltsin groupie. This is all very nice talk. But it has not contributed much to the debate that the Senate should be conducting.”