Political Quotes

“I appreciate what the Senator from Illinois, my dear friend, just said. It is interesting when we deal with substance and not sound bites. I used to worry when I was first here and I would hear some of my very senior colleagues--they were all senior to me; I was the most junior Member of the Senate--talk about when this, that, and the other thing happened. I came here with President Ford was the President. I served with President Carter, President Reagan, President George H.W. Bush, President Clinton, President George W. Bush, President Obama, and now, of course, President Trump. Every one of these Presidents were different, but when we got in times like this, they believed in substance and not sound bites. Every one of them would reach a point where Republicans and Democrats could sit down and reach an agreement knowing, whether it was a Republican President or Democratic President, they would keep their word and the Members would keep theirs. I was honored to be asked to speak at the Gold Medal presentation to Senator Bob Dole the other day. Senator Dole was a Republican leader and the Republican majority leader, one of the finest Senators I ever served with--this, from a liberal Democrat from New England--because he always kept his word, because he always brought both Republicans and Democrats together, because he knew we would keep our word. Frankly, as I spoke those words at his Gold Medal presentation, I thought: Can't we go back to those days?…”