Russ Feingold: “when then-Representative Paul Tsongas of Lowell, MA, was running for the U.S. Senate in 1978, a newspaper columnist…”

“when then-Representative Paul Tsongas of Lowell, MA, was running for the U.S. Senate in 1978, a newspaper columnist referred to him rather dismissively as ``an obscure first-term Congressman.'' Candidate Tsongas responded quickly to correct the error, saying, ``I'm an obscure second-term Congressman.'' That was Paul Tsongas, meticulous with the facts, parrying an attack with laughter, and always keeping on course to his goal. Mr. President, Paul Tsongas embodied the best qualities of a public servant. Uppermost in his mind was the responsibility to make his community, his district, his State, his Nation, his world a better place than he found it. Part of that responsibility was to speak plainly the truth as he saw it, even when speaking the truth might undermine his own ambitions. During the 1992 Presidential campaign, for example, Senator Tsongas insisted on warning the American people, over and over, about the looming threat posed by our national deficit. He refused to embrace tax cuts, instead insisting that fiscal responsibility and prudent policy were the keys to bringing the Federal budget back into balance.”