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[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 177 (Thursday, November 20, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10706-S10707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                          TRIBUTE TO SENATORS

                              Gordon Smith

  Mr. WARNER. Madam President, today may mark the last day of this 
session, although I shall not try to make that prediction. However, I 
would not want this day to pass without availing myself of the 
opportunity and the privilege to come to this floor and say a few words 
on behalf of the very dear and valued friends whom I have served with 
in this Chamber as they depart and go on the road of life to, I expect, 
in each case great challenges.
  Gordon Smith and I have become friends for ever so many reasons. One, 
we both love the outdoors. He and his devoted wife Sharon and my wife, 
we have all been close friends through these years. As I look back, I 
will always remember Gordon. I remember when I was chairman of the 
Armed Services Committee and entrusted with the extraordinary 
responsibilities--along with other committee members, as well as, 
indeed, every Member of this Chamber--entrusted with those decisions 
relating to this Nation's Armed Forces who were fighting so valiantly 
then, today, and for the foreseeable future--I hope the short future--
in Iraq.
  Gordon and I had many very quiet and private conversations about his 
deep concerns and convictions. His convictions emanated from the depths 
of his heart. Politics played no role in his approach to the conflict 
in Iraq. He was gravely concerned about the loss of life and limb, the 
image of this Nation, and, indeed, the families of the loved ones who 
are fighting in that conflict. So I say: Gordon, we had our 
differences, but I respected your stance. I can see him standing back 
there as erect as he always was, standing and voting against me and 
voting against others, but again, drawing on his own deeply held 
personal convictions. Time will tell and history will tell if I was 
right or if I was wrong, but I found his counsel, his willingness to 
listen, his willingness to share with me his most inner thoughts about 
that conflict a very valuable asset as I and others in leadership 
positions carried the heavy burden of that conflict. So I am grateful 
to him. He is a very sensitive man, and he showed that sensitivity 
every so often as he plunged into the complex issues with regard to 
health care, the almost insoluble problems--problems that he recognized 
have to be solved, particularly so that people of lesser means can 
achieve a measure of health care equivalent to those who have the means 
can receive for themselves. It is a hallmark of how this man proudly 
walked his way through life, with a loving wife by his side and the 
family whom he loves so dearly, and always thinking about those who 
perhaps have not had the opportunities that he and I and others have 
had, particularly as it relates to health care.
  He also loves the outdoors. A great golfer, we played together from 
time to time. His skill is far superior to mine in every way. He is a 
lover of art. We shared our interest in paintings, particularly 
paintings that had come from Scotland. To have had the friendship of 
Gordon Smith is to have shared the life of a wonderful human being, and 
I thank Gordon for all that he has done for me and for this great 
Nation, and for his beloved State. I wish him well in his next venture, 
and I look forward to meeting him along the way.

                             Elizabeth Dole

  I have known her for quite a few years. We had a wonderful evening 
last night where the leadership of the Republican Party--indeed, almost 
all of the Members of the Republican caucus--came to say not farewell, 
but to listen to the words of those of us who are moving on and will 
not be a part of the next Congress. Elizabeth got up, and she is such a 
very forceful speaker. She truly speaks from the heart. She has a 
remarkable memory. She recalled how when both of us were bachelor and 
spinster, we danced together. My lovely wife, who is a dear friend of 
hers, kind of looked at me and I winked and said, She was the best. It 
is just one of her marvelous traits. Talk about glass ceilings: She 
shattered her share. She has taken on many challenges in the private 
and public sector, some of which only men have ever had, and performed 
her duties with great distinction, and always with a quiet sense of 
what we call southern humility. She is very proud of her roots and her 
family. How often she has referred to her mother.
  She is a Phi Beta Kappa from Duke University and went on to Harvard 
for a master's degree and a law degree. Secretary of Transportation, 
Secretary of Labor. Few women have had that much stamina, conviction, 
self-confidence to achieve those goals; and then, of course, to have 
become a U.S. Senator. That was a special challenge because she was 
fortunate to have as a husband Robert Dole, the Republican leader of 
the U.S. Senate, if I can say with a deep sense of humility, one of the 
best friends I ever had in this institution.
  I remember talking to him one time, of course, concerning the events 
of that particular period, and I said he ought to think about running 
for leader of the Senate. Oh, no, no. No, I don't think they will ever 
elect me. Well, this conversation went on for some period of weeks, 
months, it may have been, I don't recall. Finally, I said: I have so 
much faith that you can win that election that I would be happy to 
appoint myself as one of your managers of the campaign to get it. So I 
took that, along with several other very fine colleagues, both of whom 
moved on years ago from this Chamber. And he won. He was amazed that he 
had won. I wasn't. I always recognized the leadership in him. He did a 
wonderful job as our Republican leader. His portrait proudly hangs 
right here in the corridor off of our Chamber. I never walk by that I 
don't just quietly give him a hand salute, because I was a part of the 
World War II generation, but a very small part, serving only in the 
final year of the war and always in a training command, ready as a 17-, 
18-year-old kid to become a replacement for those serving abroad. Bob 
Dole was truly one of those who earned the accolade of the ``greatest 
generation.'' He fought in Europe. He was a young lieutenant and in 
leading his men in the toughest of battles in Italy, he received what 
for others I think would have been mortal and fatal wounds.
  Because he had such an internal strength and constitution, he 
survived those wounds and came on to have a distinguished career. As I 
look back on his Senate days--and they pass so quickly, as did my 30 
years--I remember taking trips with him. We went to Russia together, 
which was the Soviet Union at that time. He was a staunch believer that 
one day Russia would become just Russia once again and those people 
would have some measure of a voice in their Government. That did come 
to pass, and that was an extraordinary trip.
  What I best remember is the time of the D-day anniversary. He was 
asked to speak in Italy, where he had fought. And then, together, we 
traveled to the Normandy beaches to join the President and others. In 
the course of that trip, we went back to the very ground on which he 
was wounded. He walked over to the stone wall that is still there--he 
remembers it ever so well--where he dragged his badly wounded body to 
give him a measure of protection until help could come, after which

[[Page S10707]]

he began that very long, arduous, challenging period of his life. It 
took years to rebuild that body, but the mind was always there fully 
intact. But he would once again have an important role serving America 
as a public servant in the Senate.
  I don't know of a husband and wife team who any admire with a greater 
level of affection than we do Bob and Elizabeth Dole. So I wish them 
both very well. She was on our Armed Services Committee. She was a 
strong advocate for the men and women in the Armed Forces. She had a 
place in her heart for all who served at Fort Bragg and the Marines' 
Camp Lejeune, and Pope Air Force Base. But that is further evidence of 
the deep affection she has for her husband Bob.

                              John Sununu

  Lastly, I turn to John Sununu. I confess not to have known him very 
well. I had met him when he came from the House of Representatives to 
the Senate. I suppose all of us who have been here for a period of 
time, having been given that marvelous accolade of an old bull, presume 
we can judge others quickly. I saw in John Sununu a man who would take 
charge from the day he came, and that he did. From the very moment he 
walked on the floor of the Senate, he was possessed of his own self-
confidence, his own driving, almost a fierce desire to be a leader--a 
leader in the sense of advocating as a true fighter, advocating for 
those issues in which he had a belief in the principles that were dear 
to his heart.
  The field of economics is quite a challenge, and with little 
provocation he would give you a tutorial on the most complex issues as 
they relate to economics. Indeed, in the weeks before the election, as 
this body was coming to a close and we voted on such measures as the 
rescue package and so forth, he frequently stood. When he spoke, our 
caucus and those around him listened very carefully. I mention this 
because he exhibited real academic strength at both MIT and Harvard. He 
did a lot of interesting things in his short life before he came to the 
Senate, not the least of which was being in the House of 
Representatives.
  John also had a special niche for his interest in education. He 
wanted to make sure people less fortunate than we would have an 
opportunity to get an education and that those in the system and 
struggling are given any help possible to succeed in their own goals of 
educating themselves. He also held--very unusual--a special regard for 
the families of law enforcement officers, men or women in uniform, and 
particularly those families who lost a spouse or loved one in the line 
of duty.
  He is an extraordinary man, John Sununu--very sensitive, very 
thoughtful, a man who loves his State, particularly the rivers of his 
State. He commended me for leading the charge in my State to remove an 
old dam that, for 80 years, blocked the migration of a fish from the 
Atlantic Ocean to the Blue Ridge Mountains. He was challenged to try to 
remedy a similar situation that existed in his State. I will miss John, 
his wife Kitty, and his lovely family. Kitty and my wife shared a few 
words on our departure last night from the dinner.
  I am not one who makes many predictions, but I predict this man 
continues to not walk but run down that road of life, one who makes 
those twists and turns, climbs those mountains, and crosses those 
rivers. He will leave his mark on many successful ventures. We will 
hear from this man not once, not twice but many times again. I wish him 
well.
  Lastly, I simply say to my State two words: Thank you. I thank all 
those Virginians who have supported me these 30 years. It was a humble 
challenge for me. I accepted it and I look back on it with the deepest 
of respect for the trust and confidence you gave me--all Virginians--
over these 30 years.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Michigan is recognized.
  Mr. LEVIN. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Levin pertaining to the introduction of S. 3715 
are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. LEVIN. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Whitehouse). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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