Thomas Daschle: “I said on January 3 that I intended to savor every one of the next 17 days. And I am pleased to tell you, I did. In…”

“I said on January 3 that I intended to savor every one of the next 17 days. And I am pleased to tell you, I did. In fact, I called my office this morning just to hear the receptionist say--one last time--``Majority Leader's Office.'' I did it again this morning. It was an honor to serve as majority leader of this Senate--even if only for 17 days. In the spirit of bipartisanship, I want to say to my friend, Senator Lott that if he every needs to take a day off--for any reason--I'll be happy to fill in for him. I also want to thank my fellow Democratic Senators--particularly our committee chairs. It's been a while since a Democratic Senator had banged a chairman's gavel around here. But you never would have known it to see them in action. One measure of their dedication is the fact that we are here today to confirm the first seven of President Bush's Cabinet nominees. Every other Cabinet nominee has gotten, or is getting, a fair hearing. Something else happened during these last 17 days: We reached a historic agreement to share responsibility in America's first-ever 50/ 50 Senate. I want to thank Senator Lott again, and commend him for having the faith and the courage to do the right and fair thing. Today, I hand the title of Majority Leader back to him. And that's just fine. As Thomas Jefferson said: ``I like the dream of the future better than the history of the past.'' Today, as President Bush begins his Presidency, we wish him well.”