Thomas Daschle: “on the morning of the last day of the 20th century, as he was preparing his breakfast, Alan Cranston died at his home in…”

“on the morning of the last day of the 20th century, as he was preparing his breakfast, Alan Cranston died at his home in Los Altos. After 86 years, his great huge heart just stopped. There can never be a good time to lose someone like Alan Cranston. Such leaders are too rare. Still, there is something fitting about Alan Cranston leaving us just as the century came to a close. It was almost as if, having spent his life working to protecting us the darker possibilities of the 20th century, he held on until the last day in order to see us safely to the new century. I first came to know Senator Cranston from a distance. He was four years into his second Senate term, and had just been elected Democratic Whip, when I was first elected to the House. That was back in 1978. Studying Senator Cranston from the other chamber, I realized early on that he possessed a rare balance. He was a standard bearer for great public causes--and he was as good a behind-the-scenes organizer and vote counter as I have ever seen. He was a pragmatic idealist.”