On the recordJanuary 26, 2011
I would like to take a moment to pay tribute to a hero of mine, Robert Sargent Shriver. He was a man of real courage, extraordinary idealism, committed to serving this country, and a dear friend. As a veteran of World War II, the founding director of the Peace Corps, and the driving force behind Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty, Sarge believed in the good things government can do for people. Among his many accomplishments, he gave us the Head Start program, the Job Corps and Legal Services for the Poor, and the Volunteers in Service to America. Later in life he became the U.S. Ambassador to France, and then president of the Special Olympics, an organization founded by his remarkable wife Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Sargent Shriver's impact on American life was profound. Through the many programs he championed, Sarge had a direct and lasting effect on the lives of millions of Americans. He was wholly committed to helping people and to the ideals he believed our country ought to stand for, and he was tireless and unrelenting in his pursuit of those goals.
