Political Quotes

“today is an important day for two reasons. One, it is a sad day because it was just a few years ago today when a dear friend, Senator Dan Inouye, died--one of my closest friends and former President pro tempore and senior Member of this body. It is also a good day because it marks one year since the release of Alan Gross from a Cuban prison where he had spent 5 years. During that time he lost more than 100 pounds, he lost five teeth, his mother died, his mother-in-law died, his brother-in-law died, and he missed his daughter's wedding. I worked for years to help obtain Alan Gross's release and the return of the remaining members of the so-called Cuban Five, who had served more than 15 years in U.S. prisons. Scott Gilbert, Alan Gross's lawyer, did an outstanding job, traveling countless times to Cuba. He skillfully advocated on Alan's behalf with Cuban and U.S. officials. My foreign policy adviser, Tim Rieser, went down several times to boost Alan Gross's morale, visiting him in prison and bringing him messages. My larger purpose, like my good friend from Arizona Senator Flake, who has been a real partner in this, was to finally put the Cold War behind us and to start looking forward to a new era. Like Senator Flake and many others, I was convinced that such a step would be widely embraced by the U.S. business community, by religious groups, by academia, the scientific community, the media, and Americans across the political spectrum.…”