Political Quotes

“one of the privileges of serving in the Senate is the chance to hear debates--some good, some not so good. Periodically, we hear greatness in speeches. The Senate just heard greatness. I think all Senators would agree, whether they are for or against this constitutional amendment, that when the history of this debate is written, when the history books are written, the speech of the distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia, Mr. Byrd, will be in that recounting. This is the type of speech that students of constitutional history, students of the Constitution itself--and this Senator wishes there were more--will look to, and they will read and reread. We sometimes forget that every 6 years, those of us who are fortunate to serve here, to serve more than once, take a very specific oath of office. I can think of times when various people have administered this oath, usually the Vice President of the United States. But I recall watching the distinguished senior Senator from West Virginia administer that oath on a couple of occasions in his role as President pro tempore of the Senate. There was one big difference when he administered it than when all the various Vice Presidents, Republican or Democrat, administered it. The difference is, they had a card before them and they read the oath. The Senator from West Virginia didn't need a card before him to do it.…”