[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 986-987]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  PROUD OF OUR NEW SECRETARY OF STATE

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I, too, feel inspired and in fact moved to 
comment on the elections in Iraq and also some other things that I have 
witnessed during the last 2 days. I felt very emotional as I watched 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday morning, during one of 
several interviews on television.
  Specifically, I am speaking of Chris Wallace's interview of our new 
Secretary of State. It was one of the most impressive interviews I 
believe I have ever seen in my life. This is obviously a highly 
talented, qualified, thoughtful, articulate person who has been sworn 
in to be Secretary of State. I have never seen a more moving interview 
in my many years in Washington, in fact over 36 years, than I witnessed 
during the interchange between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and 
Chris Wallace.
  Actually, I found myself to the point of tears as I listened to what 
she had to say, and how she said it. I was captivated by how she 
responded not only to the world given the very important position that 
she holds in answering those questions, but also on a personal basis by 
representing what is good in America. This is a lady who came from 
Birmingham, AL, an African-American, who grew up at a time when 
Birmingham was segregated and it was difficult for her to get the 
education, the experience, and the opportunities that she needed for 
life.
  She persevered, as did her family, friends, and neighbors, and she 
has now risen to one of the most important positions in the world that 
anybody could have. She will be the face of America to the leaders of 
all of the rest of the world, and it is one that I believe they, as I, 
will be impressed with.
  I will read one part of what she had to say in that interview. 
Interviewer Chris Wallace noted that he would play a clip from earlier 
this week at the White House when Condoleezza Rice was sworn in as 
Secretary of State and she referred to her relatives from Alabama who 
were there in the audience, and he asked his viewers to take a look. 
Secretary Rice said:

       They represent generations of Rices and Rays who believed 
     that a day like this might somehow be possible.

  And then Wallace continued:

       You have gone from a little girl in the segregated South to 
     being the chief representative of this country to the world. 
     What does that say about the United States?

  At that point I felt sure that tears would well up in her eyes and 
she would have difficulty responding, but she kept her composure while 
she said this:

       It says that the United States is a place that is living up 
     to its principles, that has had a struggle to do that. I[t] 
     also said in that, Chris, it was Thomas Jefferson who said 
     that the God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same 
     time and, of course, didn't himself personally carry that out 
     perfectly. . . .
       It just shows that democracy, if you have the right 
     principles in place, if you have the right institutions in 
     place, it may take a long time, but eventually the 
     aspirations for one society unified despite race and gender 
     and religion can start to come into being.
       We still have a lot of work to do in America. I look out 
     and I see that work. But I do believe that in a world where 
     difference is a license to kill, to look across and to see 
     people like me or Al Gonzales or others says that America is 
     trying desperately and, in some sense, succeeding, in living 
     up to those principles.

  I thought that was a magnificent testament to her life, what she 
experienced, what others are dealing with, but also what it means about 
our country and the hope for a lot of young boys and girls who see 
Condoleezza Rice in the position she is in and recognize that they can 
succeed, too, in the American dream.
  I continued to watch television, many different networks, and I 
started seeing the results of the Iraqi elections. It appears that it 
was a good election with a good turnout. I don't know what the exact 
turnout percentages are. Reuters reported it as being perhaps as much 
as 72 percent, I believe. In some parts of the country it was more than 
that, I would presume, and in others much less than that, but still an 
incredible turnout. Maybe it will be 60 percent, maybe it will be 58, 
maybe it will be 62, but the people of Iraq, under the threat of 
intimidation or death or future abuse, went into those polling places 
in huge numbers, stuck their finger in that little bottle of dye, and 
came out and showed it off proudly.
  By the way, they are going to have to come to live with their dyed 
finger the next couple of days. There will not be any hiding. If you 
voted in Iraq today, your finger will be stained today and tomorrow, 
but your life will be changed henceforth.
  Maybe we can learn from them. We didn't have a 60- or 70-percent 
turnout in our election. I don't know exactly what the turnout was, but 
I am sure it is much less than that in America where we don't vote if 
the weather is not good or the traffic is too bad. But in Iraq they 
walked to the polling places, they put their lives on the line, and 
they were thrilled to be able to be a part of a historic event, of 
democracy in action, and they came out and danced in the streets. They 
said: We are very happy. They also said: Thank you, America.
  A lot of credit can be passed out. It begins with the people of Iraq 
for what they did yesterday, to the men and women who are trying to 
make Iraq safe, their own policemen and national guard, and their own 
military. But a lot of credit goes to our military men and women who 
have done a marvelous job on the ground in Iraq. Even yesterday, they 
were there. They helped provide as much security as they could, but 
they were not interfering with the voters. They backed away. They left 
it to the people of Iraq and to their military and police and others.
  I cannot give enough credit to the young men and women who have been 
there and their officers and noncoms, all of them, soldiers, sailors, 
airmen, marines, and Coast Guard. Obviously, they have all been a part 
of this. When I have talked to the young troops we have there, they are 
proud of what they are doing. They feel patriotic about what they have 
helped to do there.
  Then, yesterday, they saw this begin to bear fruit. It doesn't mean 
the Iraqi people are free from terrorism. It doesn't mean everything 
has been done perfectly. It doesn't mean it is going to be perfect from 
here on. We don't know yet who won their election. It was a very 
complicated process. They had to figure out who to vote for or what 
list of people to vote for, and what number to identify. They still 
have a long way to go in cultivating their democracy. But for me, it 
was an inspiration. I was thrilled by what I saw, what I witnessed 
through the media. Not just one network or one station, all the 
different ones that were there in the country, showing democracy at 
work.
  But also I believe credit has to go to our own Congress and the 
American

[[Page 987]]

people for showing patience and forbearance and giving of their 
treasure and American blood for a distant place, for people you don't 
really know. Many wonder, I am sure, sometimes, is it worth it? Why are 
we there? How long are we going to be there? All those questions come 
forward. But what struck me again yesterday was how people react to 
freedom, how people react to democracy, being able to go and cast their 
vote. It is liberating.
  The President was right when he talked about the power of freedom and 
democracy and how it is a flame that is igniting a fire all around the 
world over the last 20 years. We have gone from about 20 democracies in 
the world to 118 countries all over the world, in every continent, in 
places where you would not have thought it would be possible: Mongolia, 
elections in Ukraine, elections by the Palestinians. There is something 
very special going on here. I do believe it is contagious and that it 
will continue to grow, and not only the American people but the people 
of the world will benefit.
  The odds of having an attack from people in a country where there is 
a democracy are much less than those who come from places where there 
is an oppressive government, dictatorship, or authoritarianism. 
Democracy is not perfect; it is evolutionary. We know that from what we 
experienced. But yesterday was a special moment. I hope the American 
people saw it, felt proud of what they were witnessing and the part we 
have played in making that day possible.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota is recognized.

                          ____________________