Jim Inhofe: “A real American hero died yesterday. That was Jeane Kirkpatrick. It happens I have been close to Jeane Kirkpatrick for a…”

“A real American hero died yesterday. That was Jeane Kirkpatrick. It happens I have been close to Jeane Kirkpatrick for a number of years. People do not realize she was born in Duncan, OK, down in the oil patch. She was the daughter of an oil field wildcatter. I knew her way back in the early stages before she was even brought up by Ronald Reagan to take the lofty positions she held. She was Ronald Reagan's foreign policy adviser in his 1980 campaign and the first woman to hold the position of U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. When someone was asking me in the media recently what is the one thing you can say she made the greatest contribution in, I said, she is the first one who called people's attention to what the United Nations is doing, the fact that they have gotten involved in things they should not be involved in. She was one of the last stalwarts to hold out for sovereignty at the United Nations in the United States. The Washington Times noted Jeane Kirkpatrick's eyes twinkled at the mention of the August 1984 night at the Republican National Convention in Dallas when she eviscerated the liberal Democrats as the 'blame America first crowd.' Boy, is she right. Look what has been happening. She was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civilian honor, in May of 1985.”