mr. president? senior senator from arizona? mr. president, it s very hard for me to add to the eloquence of my friend and my dear friend from arizona. but i do want to say that it s been one of the great honors of my life to have the opportunity to serve with a man of integrity, honor and decency and commitment to not only arizona but the united states of america. i have seen jeff flake stand up for what he believes in knowing full well that there would be a political price to pay. i have seen him stand up for his family. i ve seen him stand up for his forbearers. in fact, there s a place called
encouragingly feed debase appetites in us and leadership lives by the american creed. and american leadership looks to the world and just as lincoln did, sees the family of man, humanity is not a zero sum game. when we have been at our most prosperous, we have been at our most principled and when we do well, the rest of the world does well. these recalls of civic faith have been critical to the american identity as long as we have been alive. they are our birthright and obligation. we must guard them jealously and pass them on for as long as the calendar has days. to betray them or to be unserious in their defense is a betrayal of the fundamental obligations of american leadership and to behave as if they don t matter is simply not
absolutely necessary that there should be a full liberty to tell the truth about his acts and this means that it is exactly as necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. any other attitude is both base and servile. president roosevelt continued, to announce that there be no criticism of a president or stand by a president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile but is morally treasonable to the public. loyalty to conscience and principles should supercede loyalty to any man or party. we can all be forgiven for failing in that measure from time to time. i certainly put myself at the top of the list of those who fall short in this regard.