On the recordDecember 21, 2010
Over 20 years, David Obey has become one of my dearest friends, my mentor, and, yes, we do conspire to try to do good things. He has shown me the power of this great institution and how it can change people's lives, to make opportunity real for people, for ordinary people. He is a smart, he is a savvy legislator. No one knows more about the issues, about the politics, and about the process and about getting it done. He is incorruptible, and, as many know, he does not suffer fools. And he is a real flesh-and-blood human being. He has passion on the issues that we deal with, and they are based on a wellspring of values. Born and raised in a working class family in Wisconsin, he knows what the struggle is about. He has walked in the shoes of the people of this country, and he knows that it is this great institution that can turn it around.
