Robert Smith: “I think all of us who have an election certificate and who have been called upon to represent the citizens of our State…”

“I think all of us who have an election certificate and who have been called upon to represent the citizens of our State feel an obligation today to come together as Americans, not as Republicans and Democrats but to come together in a way that says symbolically and in reality to our constituents that our ship of state is still on course. Yesterday, America was called to endure yet another day of infamy. And in times of infamy, in times of tragedy, I find it helpful for us to refocus on the fundamentals that make us a great nation and a great people. So I say to my friends, my constituents of the great State of Oregon, that this is a time to come together as a country the way the U.S. Senate today is showing it can. Indeed, it is time, as individuals, to reach out to our neighbors, to love them better, to hold our families closer, and to serve our country with more determination than ever in the way we live our lives. Yesterday I was, like all, shaken beyond words at this tragedy and was soon hustled into a room--a secure room--where I was in the presence of Senator Daschle, Senator Lott, Senator Nickles, Senator Reid, Tom DeLay of the House, and a number of others. It was not a large group, but it was a group that normally has daily differences. Those differences melted away, and what remained were Americans determined to seek the greatest good of our country.”