Political Quotes

“I find myself, as chairman, having to live up to my responsibilities. Not only do I have the highest regard for our colleague from Georgia, I have a high regard for this airplane. These airplanes are stationed in Virginia. I am supporting the position taken by Senator McCain against the constituent interests in my own State because I feel ever so importantly the statements made by Senator McCain--namely, that the oversight which our committee tries to provide should be respected in this Chamber. It is our collective judgment. The majority of the Senators, having voted on this in various ways in our committee, believe that we should not go to this multiyear procurement at this time for reasons eloquently stated by the Senator from Arizona. I regret deeply to be in opposition to one of our most valued Members, the Senator from Georgia, but let me point this out: You have to sometimes stand apart from constituent interests, State interests, and do what you believe is in the best interests of this country. I say this with a sense of humility. I walked into the Pentagon in February of 1969 as then-Under Secretary of the Navy. The halls of the building were filled with the wreckage of a plane called TFX in which this country had invested billions of dollars to build and it was finally concluded that, for a number of reasons, the contract shouldn't go forward.…”