Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I would like to rise in support of the statements made by Senators McCain and Levin. I do not have that good a feeling about Iraq, quite frankly. I am not very confident at all that the worst is behind us. I am hopeful that we can withdraw our troops and that nothing bad will happen in Iraq, but, as Senator Levin just described, the implications of repealing the authorization to use military force are wide, varied, and uncertain. What do you get by repealing this? You can go back home and say you did something that--I do not know what you get. I mean, I really do not. I do not know what we gain as a nation by taking the contingencies of using military force off the table as we try to wind down. I just don't see the upside, quite frankly. I know the reality of what our troops face and why the Department of Defense would want to continue to have this authorization until we get Iraq behind us. At the end of the day, 4,400 people plus have lost their lives, thousands have been wounded and maimed--not counting the Iraqis who have lost their lives and have been wounded and maimed trying to create order out of chaos. As we move forward as a body, I don't see the upside to those who are doing the fighting and who have to deal with complications of this long, protracted war by us repealing the authorization at a time when it may be necessary to have it in place.…”