Thomas Daschle: “it is with sadness that I note the passing of a unique public servant, our Ambassador to France, Pamela Harriman.…”

“it is with sadness that I note the passing of a unique public servant, our Ambassador to France, Pamela Harriman. Perhaps President Clinton said it best this morning: Pamela Harriman represented the best of America's immigrant tradition. She was someone who enjoyed the opportunities this country offered but gave back so much more in return. Pamela Harriman's legacy will be remembered both in this Capitol Building and in capitals across the world. As a private citizen in the 1970's and 1980's, Pamela Harriman plunged into the rough-and-tumble of American politics. The early 1980's were a difficult time for the people in my party. An incumbent Democratic President had lost the White House and Democrats had lost control of the Senate. But Pamela Harriman helped breathe life into an ailing Democratic Party when she formed 'Democrats for the '80s,' helping to bring my party's communications operations into the modern age when she gave crucial support for the Harriman Center at the Democratic National Committee Building. She also was a host to numerous functions at her elegant Georgetown home, asking nothing but a passionate commitment to public service and Democratic values from those she assisted. As most of our colleagues know, politics in Washington can be a contact sport. Pamela Harriman played the game well. She played with great dignity, elegance, and style.”