On the recordDecember 13, 2012
I rise for one final time to address the Senate. My remarks will be brief. Actually, I just want to say one thing: Thank you. I wish I could say it with the eloquence of one of my first friends in the Senate, Senator Dale Bumpers, who told his stories and always made his case pacing these aisles like a lion tethered to a specially made, extra long microphone cord, or with the breadth of vision of the late Senator Robert C. Byrd, who sprinkled his classic Mother's Day or Fourth of July speeches with memorized poetry and his vast command of history, or with the fire of my dear friend, the late Senator Ted Kennedy, who would bellow to the rafters his passion for the America that could be and then call on the Senate to make it so. What a privilege it has been to serve with such men and so many other men and women who have made up this body over the last 24 years. You have been my friends, advisers, sometimes adversaries, always worthy, and my inspiration. I thank you. My colleagues in this body are, to a man or a woman, thoughtful, hard-working patriots. We do not always agree, understandably. But every Senator I have met is pursuing a course he or she believes is best for the Nation and advocating policies he or she believes are best for their States. When I have come to any of you with my ideas about what is best for the Nation or my State, you have listened respectfully, counseled wisely, and helped whenever you could, and so I thank you.…
