you could hardly invent a more quintessentially american story, and it took harry s legendary bluntness, toughness and tenacity to make it happen. that was from mitch mcconnell, someone who, you know, harry reid and him had their beefs and i think mitch mcconnell said they were had a cordial relationship, which we all know in washington, d.c., usually means that they don t love each other as much as they want, but that is his legacy, right? that he was someone who had this windy road to where he ended up, and more importantly, never forgot where he came from, and i think democrats that we have talked to over and over again, you heard the senator earlier say some of the same things, and that s what you hear over and over. and as we listen to his kids talking and we think about these political questions, it s also a reminder that senators, members of congress, presidents, these are also just people, right? just humans who happen to find themselves in these extraordinary positions, work
a couple of outsiders who had defied the odds and knew how to take a punch and care about the little guy. and you know what, we made for a pretty good team. reid also earned the respect of his republican colleagues as well. current republican senate minority leader mitch mcconnell saying the runway that brought harry to the upper chamber was nothing short of amazing. you could hardly invent a more quintessentially american story, and it took harry s legendary toughness, bluntness, and tenacity to make it happen. a we disagreed on many things sometimes famously. but we were always honest with each other. in the years after we left public service, that honesty became a bond. he said he didn t make it because of his athletic prowess, good looks or genius but because
to public service, has died from complications related to covid-19 at the age of 84. while the former secretary of state and joint chiefs chair was fully vaccinated, my colleague andrea mitchell was first to report that powell had multiple my yell myeloma, a type of blood cancer. severe covid cases are extremely rare among those who have been vaccinated. general powell has been lauded by presidents and prime ministers as a man of the highest character and moral code. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell put it this way. america has lost a trailblazing leader. it is hard to imagine a more quintessentially american story, a son of jamaican immigrants who learned yiddish from his boyhood neighbors in the bronx, becomes a four-star general in the united states army and serves four presidential administrations including as national security adviser, the