Senate Proceeding on Oct 27th, 2009 :: 2:24:35 to 2:29:55
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2:24:32 to 2:24:52( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. kerry: thank you, madam president. madam president, i want to congratulate my colleague from massachusett his first comments on the floor of the united states senate, what is traditionally called the

2:24:35 to 2:29:55( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Kerry

2:24:53 to 2:25:14( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: maiden speech, and what for many years was a speech that often took months if not in some cases years for a senator to make. the times have changed, and indeed the issues have changed, and now senators by custom address the floor much before

2:25:15 to 2:25:35( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: that kind of time period has elapsed. let me say that i'm glad that is the custom and i'm glad that my colleague paul kirk is here to share in his ability to be able to present his values and the values of ted massachusetts to the senate with respect to the issue that he talked about today.

2:25:36 to 2:25:56( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: i can't say that for any of us who have sat here and listened to this, as we looked across the senate at that desk, that there still isn't an adjustment as we look there and don't see our friend ted kennedy but see instead the person who has been chosen to follow in his footstep

2:25:57 to 2:26:18( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: i know that both enormously proud and enormously pleased that paul kirk spoke the way he did today and chose to speak as he did about health care. paul kirk was here in the united states senate working for ted

2:26:19 to 2:26:39( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: kennedy in 1969 when ted kennedy first really took up the great cause of health care. and it was noccident that he came to be here working for ted kennedy, although it was somewhat of a -- of an effort because paul had chosen to work in the presidential campaign of robert kennedy.

2:26:40 to 2:27:02( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: when robert kennedy was assassinated, paul felt there was not a place in politics for him, and so he stepped back for a moment. it took ted kennedy a considerable amount of personal persuasion and effort to give him a sense that working in the senate and working with him was the best way to try to carry on.

2:27:03 to 2:27:23( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: that was the beginning of an extraordinary working partnershi i think paul worked with ted kennedy until about 1977 or so in the senate, but he never stopped working with him as both a friend and an advisor. heent on to become the founder of the presidential debate commission. he chaired the democratic

2:27:24 to 2:27:44( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: national committee. he has chaired the kennedy library. and now he comes to us as really an extraordinarily appropriate replacement to the degree there can ever be a replacement. we all understand the difficulties of that for our friend ted kennedy.

2:27:45 to 2:28:05( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: so i -- i thank him for his words today. i thank him for his willingness to come here and serve in a difficult time. i thank him for being willing to go through all of the gyrations you have to go through to meet the standards of the ethics committee of the united states senate to serve just knowingly for four and a half months.

2:28:06 to 2:28:28( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: that is a great statement, both about his feelings about being chosen to fill the seat that he fills but also about his commitnt to public service. so i -- i thank my colleague today for his comments about health care. he is absolutely correct. we are on the cusp of an historic choice in this country, and i think it is more than

2:28:29 to 2:28:49( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: fitting that paul kirk, who knows ted kennedy's staff, who had such a close relationship with him, who shares his values so intensely, is here to be part of this vote, and he's absolutely correct. while he is the 60th vote, it may change some of our ability to move or not move, the -- the

2:28:50 to 2:29:10( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: thought that he expressed about our desire to have really all senators join into this historic moment and weigh in florida way that permit more of them to take part is exactly what the united states senate is about. i close just by saying as we look out -- as i looked across at paul, i thought about this transitional moment of his first

2:29:11 to 2:29:32( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: speaking and following in the footsteps of ted kennedy from that seat and that desk, and it reminds all of us that we all come and we go here. it gives us a sense of the timelessness, if you will, of this institution, and it reminds us that while we do change and

2:29:33 to 2:29:55( Edit History Discussion )

John Kerry: we come and go, this institution is here, the congress is here, the country is here, the demands of the people are here, and good people keep coming here to try to meet those demands and live out the best values for our nation. i congratulate my colleague for representing massachusetts so effectively, for keeping faith