Political Quotes

“We will be saying farewell to about 14 of our colleagues who have chosen to retire from the U.S. Senate, having given a good many years and a good amount of their talents to this country and to this body and, of course, to their constituencies in their respective States. I have fond memories of every one of them, as I came in 1989 and have been doing business with all of these folks with a great deal of pleasure. But it has not been all pleasure. There has been some bitter with the good. But nonetheless, that is life and that is the legislative process. That is the way it is supposed to be. I can remember my first speech on the floor of the Senate when I was standing in the Senators' lobby right behind the Senate, and I was a little bit nervous about my first time. Senator Simpson of Wyoming, my friend to the south, walked by me and said, 'You don't look very good. In fact, you look a little green around the gills and a little pale.' I told him, 'You know, I've been in the auction business a long time and the public speaking business a long time, and this is the first time I think I've ever really known a little bit of fear.'”