Patrick Leahy: “the late Walter Mondale is widely known for having transformed the role of Vice President, ably taking on many key…”

“the late Walter Mondale is widely known for having transformed the role of Vice President, ably taking on many key responsibilities that were delegated to him by President Jimmy Carter. Less noted are his many accomplishments in this body while he served as a Senator from the State of Minnesota. Walter Mondale is sometimes described as the paradigm figure of the transition between two eras--the FDR Coalition up to the war in Vietnam and the social ferment that came after the war. And perhaps this is so, but to me, who Fritz Mondale was and what he stood for are just as important as when he stood there. The issues he led on then are as fresh as today's news and as enduring as our founding documents, issues like the concentration and abuse of power or social and economic justice and the consolidation of wealth in the pockets and portfolios of just a few or the role of government in protecting the little guy when powerful market forces run roughshod or the tension between freedom and security; even the question of whether a woman ever could credibly assume the highest office in the land. Trace any of these issues back in time, and you will find Fritz Mondale at earlier decision points. Fritz Mondale was a good man whose decency elevated every institution in which he served. Who he was has everything to do with what he achieved. He loved the Senate, and the Senate loved him back.…”