Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretary of the Navy, have all maintained that the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Frank Kelso, should be allowed to retire as a four-star admiral. They believe that his long and distinguished career, 38 years of service in the Navy, merits retirement at four stars, regardless of the blot on his escutcheon known as the Tailhook scandal. Mr. President, I respect the individuals who have made this recommendation, and I appreciate their thoughtfulness in considering the full scope of Admiral Kelso's contributions to the Navy as they have made their recommendation and as Senators have stated here on the floor today. But I cannot agree with them on this issue. As the Chief of Naval Operations since 1990, Admiral Kelso must assume responsibility for the failure of leadership that allowed the events at the Tailhook convention to occur. The continuing disgrace of the Tailhook scandal was clearly a failure of leadership, a 'deficiency of leadership' noted by Secretary Perry.”