Larry Pressler: “I rise to pay tribute to our friend, Bob Dole. It has been my pleasure over the years to hold over 30 joint meetings…”

“I rise to pay tribute to our friend, Bob Dole. It has been my pleasure over the years to hold over 30 joint meetings with him in my State, in my time as a Congressman and as a Senator and when he was running for South Dakota's early primary. There were at least 30 meetings. I learned a great deal from Bob's service, and I learned that his tireless energy was always an inspiration to me. In fact, he would always shake hands with everybody at the end of those meetings, regardless of how long it took. But he offered a great deal of substance when somebody asked him a complicated question. He would give the full Senate answer, so to speak. I believe that he will go down as one of the great Members of this Chamber, in terms of legislative accomplishments and contributions. I was one of the first Senators to commit to him for majority leader or minority leader--whichever was the case, because at the time we did not know for sure. I was one of the first Senators to endorse him for President. I think his career in the Senate represents the best of Senate life. I guess everybody knows about his wit and his determination. I could never believe or comprehend how he had so much energy. He literally went 7 days a week. He would be as energetic on Sunday night when he was coming back to Washington.”