Kirk Watson: “Yes, he had that compassionate spirit. His unwavering concern for individual human rights and his deep knowledge of the…”

“Yes, he had that compassionate spirit. His unwavering concern for individual human rights and his deep knowledge of the world were an inspiration to us all. I remember when my predecessor passed away, I got a call at my embassy saying that if you should come to Congress, there is a place on Foreign Affairs for you. I hadn't even said I was going to come. Well, the results were I did. I sit with honor among my colleagues on Foreign Affairs. I had the privilege to be trained at the State Department twice with his son-in-law, one of those rare specimens of humanity that he allowed to marry Katrina, his daughter. And I said to Tom after Katrina in Louisiana, 'I'm so sorry that Katrina has to go around through life after this terrible, terrible hurricane and present herself as 'Katrina.' ' He said, 'She's strong like I am. She can survive.' But I knew that when he called on me to lead the delegation to Italy, something that he looked forward to every year to continue our dialogue with Great Britain, I knew something was not right, but that proud, distinguished, tall-standing human being never uttered a word.”