[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 9, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S10345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE ``MIKE'' I KNEW

  Mr. BURNS. Madam President, I cannot find the words I want for Mike 
Mansfield--their meaning--and put them together like our good friend 
from West Virginia. He knew Michael almost as long as I did.
  But Mike has moved on. His work here on Earth is done. His legacy 
will live as it will be placed among the archives as majority leader of 
the Senate, as a Member of the House of Representatives, and as an 
Ambassador to Japan. As a nation, we have been graced and blessed by 
great leaders who rose to uncommon levels in times of national crises. 
We, the Members of this Senate, are the benefactors of his stewardship. 
A thankful nation is the benefactor of his wisdom.
  I now occupy the seat once held by Mike. Thirteen years ago, I came 
to this body, and for 13 years Mike and I had breakfast every Wednesday 
morning the Senate was in session. He seldom missed. Those 
conversations were wonderful, and they were also very insightful. They 
were full of wisdom, information, and insight.
  Senator Byrd described him as a nonpartisan. That is 95 percent 
correct. But one cannot work in this system and not have some partisan 
leanings.
  No person in Washington, DC, was kinder or more helpful to a newly 
elected Member of the Senate than Mike Mansfield--even being on the 
other side of the aisle. I shall never be able to thank him enough or 
forget what he did for me.
  Senator, Ambassador, Mike Mansfield, whichever you prefer--he was a 
good and faithful servant of the Nation and of the people of Montana 
whom he represented. His long lifespan was some 98 years. That gave him 
a perspective on life and history that very few of us will ever 
understand or attain. His wise eyes had seen and experienced so much of 
this country's history. In his lifetime, a nation--think about this--
went from horseback to the Moon. Think of it.
  He was an honest man. He lied a little about his age to get into 
World War I. He came home and worked in the mines of Butte and 
Anaconda. One has to read the history of Montana to know that was not 
easy work, and very dangerous.
  His beloved wife Maureen, who preceded him in death just a year ago, 
pushed him for education to better himself and to lift himself from the 
mines. He experienced the rigors of the worst depression in the history 
of the United States--what lessons that taught many of us--and the 
experience of World War II. If that weren't enough, the era of Korea, 
Vietnam, and the cold war, when two powers looked each other in the eye 
until one blinked.
  During tumultuous times, the United States has been blessed with 
common men and women who rose to uncommon levels of leadership when 
they were tested and asked to do so--men and women with a hidden 
character of steel, vision, compassion, and integrity. Mike Mansfield 
was one who, when called, responded to that level demanded by the day.
  Looking back at those conversations, they were mostly events and 
happenings of the Senate. He loved to tell stories of the giants of 
their day. That gave me great insight of this body, and his advice was 
seldom, if ever, wrong.
  The Mike I knew will be with me as long as I shall breathe. I thank 
God every day that our Nation's demands were answered by men and women 
such as Mike Mansfield.
  The best advice that was ever given to me by Senator Mansfield was 
short and very pointed.
  By the way, I used to work in the press corps in Montana when Michael 
was a Member of this body. The producer of the news show would say: Go 
out and interview Senator Mansfield. We need about a 15-minute 
interview. That meant you had better have about 40 questions, because 
the answers were very short.
  Yes, noble--little possible doubt. He didn't embellish much. But the 
best advice he ever gave me was short and very pointed. He said one 
time--and I will never forget it--``At the end of the day, it will be 
courage and vision that will sustain this Republic for generations to 
come.'' Courage and vision to sustain this Republic for the generations 
to come.
  This Nation has not only been blessed by great topography, but with a 
great climate and great natural resources from the mountains in the 
East, across the Ohio, the Missouri, and Mississippi valleys to the 
mountains of the West, to the high prairies and the Deep South. It has 
always produced men and women who, when tested, showed the steel of 
character and vision.
  Thank God he was a Member of this body. And might all of us live for 
the day when we can even stand in measure with him.
  Madam President, I yield the floor. 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. REID. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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