Political Quotes

“I do not want to turn this into a bouquet-tossing process, but I also want to commend our friend from Wyoming. I think he is going to do an excellent job in his new position. At the end of last year, we got a little bit more flexibility in terms of the interpretation of Leave No Child Behind Act because of the efforts with respect to hiring of rural teachers, and I thank him for his work on that, and certainly the bipartisan firm of Senators Kennedy, Dodd, Enzi, and Alexander is a force to contend with, and I am looking forward very much to working with them. The confirmation of the Secretary of Education by the Senate, important as it is, is not the only important development in American education this week. I am sure many of our colleagues have heard about the remarks made by Harvard President Larry Summers this week, remarks that in effect said women may be underrepresented in math and sciences because of innate differences between men and women. I spoke with Dr. Summers this morning. He made it clear to me that he is acutely aware that remarks he intended to be thought-provoking crossed the line. He knows that as president of one of America's most distinguished institutions, his views are heard worldwide. I expect he will continue to express his contrition to the Harvard community and educators around the country.”