Arlen Specter: “there is a heavy cloud hanging over the Senate Chamber today. A bouquet of flowers with a black tapestry is on the desk…”

“there is a heavy cloud hanging over the Senate Chamber today. A bouquet of flowers with a black tapestry is on the desk of our departed colleague, Senator Paul Coverdell, whose presence will be greatly missed. There is a saying that in Washington, in Congress, in the Government, a great deal could be accomplished if there was less concern--perhaps no concern--for who gets the credit. Paul Coverdell epitomized that concept. He was always in the thick of the action. He was always prepared to help. He did it with conciliation, with good will and accommodation, and in the spirit of compromise; self-effacing and never interested in the credit, not interested in the news reports or the television acclaim or any of what is customarily associated with the politics, the public relations of the Congress in Washington, DC. That kind of effective, quiet Senator behind the scenes is a relative rarity here. He had a very distinguished career in the Georgia Legislature, in the Georgia State Senate, going back to 1970. He was the Republican leader.”