Thomas Daschle: “I must say that I do not know that I have ever met anybody more decent, more committed, more dedicated to public service…”

“I must say that I do not know that I have ever met anybody more decent, more committed, more dedicated to public service than is Tony Lake. Our Nation owes him a big debt of gratitude for his contributions, and a great level of appreciation for the many ways in which he has already served his country. I only hope that he will continue to choose to do so in spite of these extraordinary circumstances. Mr. Lake was asked to be the Director of Central Intelligence by the President of the United States. It has been the prerogative of the President to name people within his administration, going all the way back to George Washington. Of course, there are times when the Senate in its role as a body to serve with advise and consent that it has disagreed with the President about a particular nomination, or about a particular member of a given administration. But I must say in all of history I challenge somebody to come up with more flimsy evidence with which to destroy the character of a candidate for public office appointed by the President as grievously as what I see has happened to Tony Lake in the last several months.”