Political Quotes

“Madam President, I assume a number of my colleagues have seen the movie ``Lincoln.'' One particularly brief but poignant moment of that movie showed the President's staff discouraging him from spending so much time talking to regular people, leaving the White House and inviting normal people who weren't involved in politics every day or didn't work in the White House into the White House to talk. They were saying: Mr. President, you need to run this war. You have so much to do. You shouldn't be meeting with people as much. President Lincoln said to his staff: I need my regular public opinion baths. Just listening to the last few speakers, particularly the Republican leader, I think it is more important more people in this institution go out and talk to real people who are affected by this health care law. There is the 25-year-old who has already benefited from staying on her mother's health care plan, the person in the high-risk pool who has insurance now--such as a friend of mine in Port Clinton in Ottawa County, Ohio, does--because of this law. People have seen the consumer protections. They haven't lost their insurance because they were expensive for an insurance company. My colleagues need to get a public opinion bath, walk around their States a little more and listen to people outside of the country clubs and outside of the trade associations who are charged ideologically and not really particularly open about these kinds of issues.…”