[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 23 (Monday, March 7, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 7, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                  RECOGNITION OF THE REPUBLICAN LEADER

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The minority leader is recognized.
  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, like all Members of this Chamber, I was 
surprised last Friday by the announcement that the distinguished 
majority leader had decided not to seek reelection.
  I have said many times before that the U.S. Senate could not operate 
effectively if the majority leader and the minority leader did not 
trust each other.
  And while the majority leader and I may not share a political 
philosophy or a voting record, one thing we have shared these past 5 
years is a friendship based on complete respect and trust.
  For some, politics is a game of secret strategies and attempting to 
confuse and surprise your opponents.
  For George Mitchell, however, politics and public service are not 
games--they are opportunities to make a difference in the life of our 
Nation and her people.
  As we sought to make that difference, George Mitchell never told me 
anything but the truth. I may have disagreed, but I knew that his word 
was his absolute bond.
  The values exhibited by George Mitchell every day--values of honesty, 
decency, and civility--are values he learned from his father, an orphan 
who worked as a janitor at Maine's Colby College, and his mother, a 
Lebanese immigrant.
  I was privileged to deliver the commencement address at Colby College 
last year, and I can say with confidence that the respect in which 
Senator Mitchell is held in this Chamber is matched by the respect in 
which he is held by the people of Maine.
  As executive assistant to former Senator Ed Muskie, as a U.S. 
attorney, as a U.S. district judge, and as a U.S. Senator, George 
Mitchell has given his best for the people of Maine and America.
  And no doubt about it, when the majority leader retires from the 
Senate, his record of service will be far from complete.
  Whether he becomes baseball commissioner, a Supreme Court Justice, or 
something else, I am confident that George Mitchell will continue to 
make a difference.
  The Senate has some big issues ahead of it in the coming months, and 
I look forward to working with the majority leader in reaching 
solutions that will move America forward.
  I suspect that our votes will often cancel each other's out, but I 
know that my trust, respect, and admiration for a man I am proud to 
call my colleague and friend will only get stronger and stronger.

                          ____________________