Arlen Specter: “I believe Senator Clinton brings extraordinary talent and an extraordinary record to this very important position. Her…”

“I believe Senator Clinton brings extraordinary talent and an extraordinary record to this very important position. Her educational and professional background are sterling. I have a little parochial pride at the fact that she is a graduate of the Yale Law School and has carried forward that school's tradition for public service. I got to know Mrs. Clinton first when she was First Lady. Shortly after I had brain surgery, in 1993, I bumped into her at the carriage entrance, coming into the Senate Chamber, and we talked a little bit about my medical experience. She invited me to visit with her in the White House, which I did--as I recollect, on the second floor of the West Wing. I told her of the personal experience I had and also my ideas from serving on the subcommittee of Labor, Health, Human Services and Education for the 13 years that I had been in the Senate. As First Lady, Mrs. Clinton was an activist. The record speaks for itself on all that she undertook. Then, to maintain candidacy for the Senate in New York was very courageous, gutsy, reminiscent of Robert Kennedy leaving the Attorney General's job, going to a State not his home State to seek election to this body. In the Senate she has had an extraordinary record.”