Political Quotes

“Thank you, Secretary Franklin. And let me first recognize our Baldrige Foundation trustees, our private sector examiners and judges, and all those who coordinated this year's Baldrige Awards. Distinguished Members of Congress present, welcome. And also it's my special privilege to salute members of the Baldrige family who are with us today. I really do look forward, Barbara indicat- ed, to these yearly award ceremonies. It is an opportunity to honor the Nation's best and a chance to revisit the legacy of an extraordinary man, Malcolm Baldrige. I remember a story that President Reagan used to tell about Mac. He phoned him to ask him to join his Cabinet, and he was told by his wife, Midge, that he'd have to call back later. Mac was out on his horse roping and couldn't come to the phone. [Laughter] Well, I think everybody at Commerce who worked with this extraordinary man knows exactly that that's the way he was, a man whose collection of belt buckles was the only thing that could outnumber his many achievements. And in a hand-tooled western belt and a pinstriped suit, he was the Connecticut cowboy, a man whose name is now enshrined in the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma and the only guy I know who'd complain of saddle sores from sitting around a desk too long. [Laughter] He used to say that the thing he liked about cowboys was that they didn't talk unless they had something to say, and when they said something, they meant it. And that was true of Mac Baldrige.…”