Political Quotes

“I yield myself 5 minutes. As so many of my colleagues have described, Chuck Hagel is a soldier, a statesman, a businessman, a patriot. As my colleague from West Virginia pointed out, he could have chosen a much easier path in the 1960s, a path that many trod, but he chose the most difficult. He not only joined the Army, but he volunteered for Vietnam, when he had the opportunity to serve honorably and well in Europe. He joined his brother at Fort Dix. He knows the pressures our men and women face. And he knows the decisions we make here, and the decisions that are made in the Pentagon, ultimately are carried out by those young men and women in uniform. In fact, I can't think of anyone over the last several decades who has learned that lesson so well. The other thing that is so impressive is that this is not a one- dimensional resume. Chuck Hagel was a businessman, and very successful. He founded his own company, created jobs, and created opportunities. He was the Deputy Administrator of the Veterans' Administration. He has run a large Federal agency. Very seldom do people come into one of these positions having run a Federal agency, or at least being the second in command. And he has been a U.S. Senator. So he knows very well the procedures and the personalities that are here in the U.S. Congress. To me, though, some of the most compelling endorsements come from those who have actually done the job before.…”