[ bell tolling ] ♪♪ ♪♪ in the when you walk through the a storm hold your head up high ♪ ♪ and don't be afraid of the dark ♪ ♪ at the end of the storm there's a golden sky ♪ ♪ and the sweet silver sounds of a lark ♪ ♪ walk on through the wind ♪ ♪ walk on through the rain ♪ ♪ though your dreams be tossed and blown ♪ ♪ walk on walk on ♪ ♪ with hope in your heart ♪ ♪ and you'll never walk alone ♪ ♪ you'll never walk alone ♪ ♪ walk on through the wind ♪ ♪ walk on through the rain ♪ ♪ and your dreams be tossed ♪ ♪ walk on walk on and open your heart ♪ ♪ and you never walk alone ♪ ♪ you'll never walk alone ♪ ♪ ♪♪ ♪ if tomorrow all the things were gone, i'd work for all my life ♪ ♪ and i'd have to start again with just my children and my wife ♪ ♪ i thank my lucky stars to be living here today because the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away ♪ ♪ i'm proud to be an american where at least i know i'm free ♪ ♪ and i won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me ♪ ♪ and i gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today ♪ ♪ but there ain't no doubt i love this land ♪ ♪ god bless the usa ♪ ♪ from the lakes of minnesota to the hills of tennessee ♪ ♪ across the plains of texas from sea to shining sea ♪ ♪ from detroit down to houston ♪ ♪ and new york to l.a. ♪ ♪ well there's pride in every american heart ♪ ♪ and it's time we stand and say ♪ ♪ that i'm proud to be an american ♪ ♪ where at least i know i'm free ♪ ♪ and i won't forget the men who died ♪ ♪ who gave that right to me ♪ ♪ and i'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today ♪ ♪ cause there ain't no doubt i love this land ♪ ♪ god bless the usa ♪ ♪ and i'm proud to be an american ♪ ♪ where at least i know i'm free ♪ ♪ and i won't forget the men who died ♪ ♪ and who gave that right to me ♪ ♪ and i'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today ♪ ♪ because there ain't no doubt i love this land ♪ ♪ god bless the usa ♪ and with that rendition of "god bless the usa" and before that "you'll never walk alone" which is what his daughter said to her father in her tribute, you'll never walk alone. we've seen this emotional touching tribute. this service for bob dole. some unforgettable memorial eulogies, president biden saying that senator dole had courage, grit, goodness and grace through his years of service in the military. in congress, to his friends and his family, adding that in their 25 years of service together in the senate, they disagreed but were never disagreeable to each other. at one point ad libbing, god, i loved the guy. senator dole's casket will be driven to the memorial he helped create, open to the public, to hear tributes to come from joint chief chairmans mark milley who escorted elizabeth dole, tom hanks, of course, the actor from "saving private ryan" and a supporter of the world war ii memorial and producer of band of brothers. and our own savannah guthrie, a close friend of the dole family who had been with him for his 98th birthday just this summer. dole's casket will be flown from andrew's joint force base with his family to kansas. his hometown of russell, kansas for services there. joining us now, nbc news presidential historian, michael beshlosh. michael, we've seen too many of these services. this one is so meaningful, especially in a time of such stalemate in congress, to hear the speeches and hear from tom dashl, from others there in the front row and in the senate rows, just how bipartisan he was. this fierce partisan but he worked for compromise. >> it's almost like walking with tom petty. we're looking at a bygone era that maybe someday will come back, but it's not going to happen any time very soon. we get to live in a democracy largely because of sacrifices made by bob dole as a hero of world war ii and others. he gave 80 years of service to the united states. one of the great congressional leaders in american history. and someone who stood for bipartisanship and reaching across the aisle, and i guess i have to say, this is not said in criticism, but as a question. we just heard lee greenwood sing. lee greenwood called donald trump a patriot saying at the trump inaugural festivities, bob dole was loyal to donald trump all the way until this year, even after the sixth of january insurrection that almost took down the democracy that bob dole fought so hard to preserve. i guess one of the questions for his historian or biographer who is dealing with the hugely important life of bob dole and all of this contributions is going to be why he was willing to stick with donald trump who in so many ways is trashing so much of what he believed in. >> including his refusal and not breaking with him until and because of his refusal to concede the presidency to this day. i'm joined here by eugene robinson, also with us jonathan alter. jonathan, you've covered bob dole and written about him, and you're the biographer of jimmy carter. and bob dole was a fierce partisan. he was chosen by richard nixon. in the years i covered him on capitol hill, as we see his casket being carried down the steps by the military pallbearers, to the escort and, of course, then we'll go to the world war ii memorial. jonathan, he was also a man who was a patriot first. he cared most about the country. >> absolutely. and he understood the importance of the peaceful transfer of power. so even though he stuck with donald trump a long time because he was a very partisan republican, he did not agree with trump's challenging of the election returns. and it reminds me of what dole said on the day following his defeat to reporters, for the presidency in 19 76. this was a line he used whenever he lost. he asked how he felt, and he said i went home and slept like a baby. woke up every two hours and cried. and to me, that kind of summarized not just the wit of bob dole, but his understanding that we are in a democracy. you don't win them all. and when he would lose in the senate or when running for higher office, the bitterness that he sometimes felt because of the hand that fate dealt him, would eventually melt away, and he would deal with other people as human beings. and so i thought that tom dashl's eulogy, the fact that one of bob dole's closest friends was bob strouse, chairman of the democratic party, and the other many examples of him reaching across the aisle, of what his true legacy is going to be. >> and eugene robinson, when we think of bob dole, we think of the service. how much he sacrificed. >> yes. >> how he fought back and was recovering for years in the v.a. hospital in grand rapids, michigan. >> uh-huh. >> or battle creek, michigan, i should say. with next to danny, anyway, a democrat from hawaii, who then went to the senate first. >> the senate. >> and then was also treated in that same hospital. which is amazing. so that's now what the facility is called. and that's what struck me about this funeral. it was a funeral of one of the remaining greatest generation that fought world war ii, and that's what really resonated with me about this service today. that -- and i always paid most attention to the family, i thought, robin's words about her father were most touching. just because it is so difficult to eulogize a parent. it is. it is a tough thing for anybody to do. and so i thought the human dimension of the funeral and the historic dimension was what will stick with me. >> and as we say, we're going to be hearing from savannah guthrie from tom hanks, general milley at the world war ii memorial where robert dole, in a wheelchair, would visit weekly or daily at times and meet with the veterans and meet with the honor fights on the final minute garrett haake, you covered the senate. now the job i used to hold, and i can tell you, it was a different place. hard to hope or imagine that the beautiful spirit of today's ceremony would somehow inspire the people you cover to cross across the lines, go across the lines and get things done. >> andrea, one can only hope. i mean, rare is the event that keeps senators in town on a friday much less sitting together side by side and listening to one of their own being eulogized q but you can only hope some of the messages came through from elizabeth dole's commentary or robin's, rather commentary, that her father wanted to end every day knowing he had helped at least one person. that's the kind of thing you hope some of the lawmakers take with them. for president biden's eulogy, that at the end of the day, robert dole, bob dole saw himself as a patriot first. and that that should be a guiding principle. if he could lay down his arms at the end of the day and joke across the aisle, so could they. and perhaps that will be something for the lawmakers to think on over this weekend. >> well, just one note, final note of all the people in that cathedral, the many hundreds, maybe thousands, more than a thousand people, and i know the rules because i was there last -- just last sunday. it was one person notably not wearing a mask. ted cruz, sitting next to amy klobuchar, which is just against all the rules of the cathedral, and of the u.s. senate. but thank you so much for being with us. for watching this very special edition, a tribute to bob dole. a special edition of "andrea mitchell reports", and our news continues with "mtp daily" right now. hello. thank you, andrea. this is the time slot for "meet the press daily". bob dole is going to be honored at the world war ii memorial in d.c. he was instrumental in getting it built. he had to fight for years to get this memorial built. a memorial that should have been in the town sooner than it did, but thanks to bob dole, it is here now. and it follows a funeral service at the national cathedral which ended up a few moments ago where the late senator was remembered by some of his former senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle. among them, president bide whon served in the 25 years. he called on lawmakers still serving to follow dole's example. >> we served together for 25 years. we disagreed, but we were never disagreeable with one another. not one time that i can think of. i found bob to be a man of principle, pragmatism, and enormous integrity. bob was taking his final journey. he is sitting back now watching us. now it's our job to start standing up for what's right for america. >> from the world war ii memorial, dole's casket will be take ton joint base andrews where he will be flown to kansas. the state he represented in the senate for more than a quarter century. he'll be honored there tomorrow. it's safe to say bob dole embodied a war hero and nearly gave his life defending this country and became a statesman who dedicated his life to serving this country. a former chairman of the rnc, willing to reach across the aisle to work with democrats. i had a chance to ask bob dole seven years about the state of the chamber he served with such honor, and the state of politics in general. reminding you, this is seven years ago. >> there are some republicans now in the party who don't -- don't want to cross the aisle, work with the democrats. they don't really want to do much of anything. i mean, they got some in the house. their primary goal is to get rid of john boehner as speaker. i don't know. i thought i was a conservative. i think i was a third highest reagan supporter. but i believed in getting things done and working with democrats. >> what's your answer when someone says the senate is broken, how do you fix it? >> well, the senate may not be broken, but it's badly bent. and it's just going to take some strong leadership in both parties. i mean, you got to get things done. >> seven years ago. those were his observations about the state of congress, this town, and partisanship. as we wait for the ceremony at the world war ii memorial to get underway, i'm joined by three men who knew senator bob dole well in different strategists. mike murphy, a man who wrote the book on dole's '96 campaign. bob woodward who may or may not reveal how many dimes dole was a source for his many books, and allen simpson who served alongside dole during his time in washington. mike murphy, let's start from the presidential race a little bit. you actually worked at a campaign against him, and then you joined him. which, to me, says a lot about bob dole. your memories from that campaign. >> i greatly admired him. i worked for him several times. i worked for him in '87 in the first race. proud to be that. then in the primaries in '95 i was with alexander but had fun in the green rooms talking to senator dole. i held him in great regard. and i worked in the campaign in the general election. i never met a more impressive person. i've been lucky between dole and mccain to work for great people. >> i've been thinking today we're not just saying good-bye to bob dole. i feel like we're saying good-bye to an entire era and look, i'm not going to get a little too polly annaish, but an era of politics i grew up with, and why i wanted to do the job i am doing today. it seems like an honorable profession, american politics, and the ones that bob dole, and i'll be speaking with allen simpson in a minute. it doesn't feel that way now. >> dole was a lost thing which we desperately need more of. he was a practical politician. he -- i always thought his nickname should be sergeant. i see him in the senate, we got to pass this bill. what do you need? he was all about getting things done from a conservative point of view. that was not uncommon among the greatest generation guys. and you know, that is a very, very different situation than we have today. although, heros like dole serve one last purpose when they pass. we celebrate their life and they can be inspirational, and watching people in that cathedral today talking to each other across party lines, maybe it -- maybe we'll have no tall ja for when people put country first. that would be a final service i think he would appreciate. >> allen simpson, tell me about the times when maybe in that senate republican lunch you guys were ready. you're not ready to compromise, you know, how would he make the case? how would he get everybody to say look, we've got what we want. let's move on. >> well, he would make the case with good humor, and then they'd say, well, how do we craft a bill that we're going to shift off to see if it will be vee teed. no when he does that, he'll chew his leg off. he'd say you know that cartoon, bernard the whatever that was, and he'd see this ball and throw it down to somebody and the guy would pick it up and it would blow up in your face. i said that's what it's going to do to us. forget it. there's no joy in that kind of stuff. and what pleasure do you get out of crafting something just out of awning and defensive behavior to see if it will blow up in somebody else's face in the minority leader on the majority leader? he wasted no time with that stuff. and so that was -- that was his charm. he'd say what have you got for pie today, for lunch? and he threw -- he threw them all off. and there were people who were, boy, talk about tougher than a boiled owl. some of those guys, i'll never forget one of the guys said about without andrews, mark hatfield said, you know, who didn't vote for the defense bill? and dole said, mark, why didn't you vote for that. and he said i was one of the last sabers headed for nagasaki, and i don't talk about it, i don't like to hear from someone who is a draft dodger from whatever said it was. he didn't use curse words. he sent me off to do the cursing. he said well, you go curse on somebody? i said yeah, i was an assistant for ten years. i loved the guy. i'd go anywhere for him. but his charm was humor. >> bob woodward, you covered him, and like i said, i half joke, i wonder how many times he's a source in so many of your books, and i know you can't reveal the anonymous quotes. but it was interesting to see him as a hard-charging partisan during the water gate, but also accepting the facts as they were when they came out and him admitting he didn't know all the facts. >> yes. and just around one scene, i did a book on dole's race against clinton, 25 years ago. the 1996 race, and the staff would say if you want to interview dole, get a 3:00 appointment on saturday, because he'll sit there because he doesn't like to go home. he always works. so in the middle of the campaign, i'm there one saturday afternoon, and said you know, bill clinton was upset at you a couple years ago when you went on television, the morning that clinton's mother, virginia kelley, had passed away, and dole was that acidic, we need a white water ininvestigation, and dole said to me, he said oh, no. bob dole would never do that. and then his staff checked and realized that he had done that, and so we're sitting there, and talking about mothers of all things. and dole remembered his own mother, bina, who died 13 years earlier, and tear came to his eyes, and it really broke down, and he then remembered the number of -- phone number, and he called her. so he then wrote an apology letter to clinton right in the middle of the campaign, very unusual action, saying i should not have done that. that is not who i am. >> that's a great story. it does say a lot about it. you know, allen simpson, the other thing about what we're losing today is bob dole was the spokesperson for the greatest generation for some of us in many ways. and the importance of those world war ii veterans in running this country. and in keeping the senate from becoming a partisan place, and i lament today i think if more of the members had served, and i'm not saying in the military, national service, however want you want to call it, but if you call a -- you may appreciate it when you're older and have to make the rules. >> i think he used to talk about -- i was a lieutenant in the infantry. i was in the army of occupation in germany with the second armored division. and, of course, i told dole. i said bob, you don't have to worry about me. there's no footprints behind you. i don't want your job. and i'll go over the hill with you. you lead. you lead. i'll go over the hill. and over the cliff with you. so we would talk about something, something missing in the young people, especially congressmen. they don't know the discipline of the military. and we talked about a draft. well, that would have been a shock thing. boy, that will win you a lot of votes. but we often talked about public service. what would a kid do? something involuntary this or get into something, though there were various aspects of organizations that did that. bob talked often about the fact that for the first time in your life, you really don't want to do what you want to do and by god, you're going to do it or you're going to get court marshalled. and we agreed on that. and that's -- they're all gone now. there are very few veterans in the congress. >> that may come back as the iraq and afghanistan veterans come of age. bob, you wrote that book. you wrote a book about the race. what would a dole presidency have been like? >> well, he was a wonderful man as everyone said. he was very disorganized, and if he'd been president, it would have been a bob dole disorganized presidency. but i remember after the book, "the choice" came out. he called me. he was out campaigning in illinois. he called from my hometown, and called me at home. said oh, i'm here in wheaton, illinois. i said well, have you read the book. and one of the lines i will never forget. he said well, i skimmed it in detail. and i think that's the way politicians read books. they skim it in detail and look at their own name, and then the final interview for the paperback, and so this is, you know, six months after -- five months after he'd lost to clinton, and it was two and a half hour interview. and it was a new dole. no tears. no self-pity. and he very directly and dramatically said look, this is about life after loss and i asked what do you think of clinton. of course, he maintained that edge, and he said well, he was a rogue, but i liked him. >> bob woodward, allen simpson, i appreciate both of you sharing some of the memories with us. stick around. we await the start of the ceremony from the world war ii memorial. first, we're going to have a little bit of news updates. up next a partial victory for opponents of the texas abortion law. a few headlines for you before the ceremony at the world war ii memorial begins. you're watching "meet the press daily". this... is the planning effect. this is how it feels to know you have a wealth plan that covers everything that's important to you. this is what it's like to have a dedicated fidelity advisor looking at your full financial picture. making sure you have the right balance of risk and reward. and helping you plan for future generations. this is "the planning effect" from fidelity. - realtor.com's 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that's what the supreme court case was about. the court unanimously said you can't sue state court judges. they don't enforce anything. by a 5 -4 ruling the court said by the way, chief justice roberts with liberals. by a 5 -4 ruling the court said you can't sue state court clerks or the attorney general, but by an 8-1 vote with only justice thomas saying you can sue the members of the state medical board that license clinics. it leaves open for challengers to go back to federal court and try to get this law overturned. this case was not about the abortion right. it was simply about the structure of the texas law. and the other disappointment for challengers of the law is the court left in place the order that allows texas to continue to enforce the ban while the lawsuits proceed. >> well, i guess that's the part, pete. what's the rationale for that? >> well, the court didn't say much about it other than because they're only saying we're going to allow the lawsuits to proceed, we don't know how they're going to come out. so for now, there's no reason to shut the law down. that seems to be the court's logic. >> barbara, how would you argue this? is there another angle to take. if this is what the courts are saying how you do it, you have no chase if you're on the abortion rights side of things? >> well, i think one thing that is very important here is that the court did find there is somebody that you can sue. in this instance, t the medical board. the case remains alive. what troubles me the most is as we speak at this moment, abortion is still illegal in the state of texas after six weeks in direct violation of roe v. wade. the last time i checked, that's still the law of the land. i think one of the key lines in all of this is the dissent by sotomayor. she wrote i trust the district court will act expeditiously to enter much-needed relief. i think that is a hint to the district courts who enjoined this law immediately. i think you can do it as early as today. that means we're back to the presb-8 landscape where this law is not on the books until they are successful in their lawsuits. i hope we see that happen as soon as today. >> all right. so barbara, walk me through what you expect to see happen. so they now refile the suit. finding somebody to sue. this starts in district court? >> yeah. so they had already sued this one remaining defendant who -- we go back to the district court where the court was filed. a judge robert pitman who had the case before and demonstrated hostility to sb-8. i think it's likely the judge will follow the law and enjoin the statute while the case makes its way through the courts. they'll work through it there. the circuits will send it back to the supreme court. the key money question, of course, is by the time this case works its way up to the supreme court, we will defer the decision on dobs which might overturn roe v. wade. >> that was my question back to pete. given everything that we just outlined of the trajectory of this case now, when is realistic? when is it realistic the supreme court gets it again? >> well, remember there's also a separate -- i'm going to delay my answer to your question just slightly by adding one other element here. there is another set of lawsuits that this -- this case in the supreme court was all about whether you can sue in federal court. there's a whole bunch of other lawsuits already underway in state court. and just yesterday one of the judges there said this law is unconstitutional. so that is another pathway for the challengers here. but it could come back to the supreme court presumably in several months from now. i don't think it's going to come back unless the judge down there allows the abortion provider -- or the abortion providers to get a stay and block enforcement and the fifth circuit agrees. i don't think it's coming back in the supreme court quickly. >> barbara, if roe v. wade is upheld in some form, right, and there's always the one path that maybe they uphold roe and allow mississippi to stand. does that impact this texas law at all? >> i think it could, chuck. because the mississippi case, of course, says 15 weeks. and in the arguments we heard last week, in dobs, we heard several of the justices suggesting that the roe viability standard is sort of arbitrary, and why is it 15 weeks, isn't 15 weeks enough? well, viability second base as good a point as any. 15 weeks seems arbitrary more than viability, but if 15 weeks is good enough, why not six weeks. i think that the way that comes out could open the door for more and more restrictive laws on the books. >> and pete, what is the timeline on the state path? i mean, obviously at some point it will end up in the texas supreme court. >> right the lawsuits are underway now. the judge that yesterday declared the law unconstitutional decided, though, not to enforce a ban on it. so the law is still underway, still being enforced. that ruling applied only to the specific parties in his case, but there are other lawsuits that are also working their way through the pipeline. so it does seem to be moving fairly quickly in texas. >> it sure does. pete williams, barbara, thank you both for helping us untangle some of these legal maneuvers. here's a live look at the world war ii memorial where we expect a service honoring bob dole to begin shortly. this memorial is there because of him. we'll bring you that service as soon as it starts. we're also expecting to hear from president biden this hour at the close of the democracy summit. we'll bring you those remarks when they happen as well. you're watching "meet the press daily". cough cough sneeze sneeze... 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senator dole. answer the question. wonderful to see you, robin. the pacific ocean and the atlantic ocean. the two theaters of conflict. 48 states at the time, and every american territory, totaling now 50 states. and still a born part of america. to appreciate the life and the accomplishments of bob dole, simply look around at where we've gathered today at this national memorial to americans who gave their lives for the common good and the common cause of saving the world from tyrants. when bob dole fulfilled his duty in that war which burned up half the world, the cost he paid was a hard one for him to bear. he lost the use of a limb and part of his once-strong shoulders on a cold mountainside in italy to an enemy that was trying to kill him. they failed. to recover, bob dole lay in a hard plaster body cast for 39 months, roughly 1,170 days, aided by all those who cared for the wounded veterans of that war. he worked himself through the long, hard sessions of physical toil just to be able to go about the routine motions of an average never able again to button a shirt or sign his name as he had. he saluted and he made your acquaintance with his left hand. the folks from russell, kansas, they knew bob dole. and they knew the price he had paid. and they came forward to aid his recovery. their nickels and dimes, the hard-earned dollars they volunteered to do without, were collected in cigar boxes and made possible the rest of bob dole's life in service. who could ever forget such largesse, such support, such a loving effort to ease the hard work of a son of kansas who had once been, yes, the best-looking senior at russell high school. bob dole never forget it, never. and if he was here today, the mentions of those coins in a cigar box would reduce him to tears. there are many great lessons to take away from bob dole's life. go to the other guy's office so you can decide when the meeting is over and get up and walk out. speak straight, even when it gets you in trouble, because it will. but at least everyone will know how you stand and what you stand for. and always plan not just to win but win big. yes, you may try and fail. but you will not fail to try. and always, always remember. how many structures in this city exist but for the efforts of one man? the national world war ii memorial was built over two white house administrations with the contributions of americans like you. but it was bob dole who willed this memorial into place. he pushed the idea. he coraled the votes. he made the phone calls. he enlisted allies. all of us in the cause. and he raised the money. he did all but mix the concrete himself, which he may have done had he had the use of that right arm. this memorial stands in this rightful site because bob dole remembered. he remembered the nearly half a million souls who unlike him never came home from the second world war. he remembered the years of service the surviving americans had invested. yet this memorial was not built only for the generation it honors any more than it was erected to crow of their victory. bob dole called this a memorial to peace so that all generations would remember that peace is achieved in shared labor, by shared sacrifice, by volunteering for the shared duty if peace is to be won and if we americans are to continue our pursuit of a more perfect nation in an imperfect world. now, there are other great americans who are remembered by memorials on this wide, long patch of green here in our capital. places that hold the essence of their honor and their ethos, of their character and their efforts. places where we feel a part of them, of all that they did and all that they tried to do. a bit of their presence when we visit. bob dole came to this plaza often, to remember, to talk with veterans like himself, and to their posterity. by greeting them with a shake of his left hand. the memory and conscious of the man himself will always be here. >> we are now bringing you president biden who is speaking, closing remarks of the summit for democracy that he called. let's listen in. >> -- that democracy is facing and the opportunities for its renewal. we facilitated conversations and connections among mayors around the globe, from arizona to manheim, germany, and other leaders who were in the front lines of demonstrating the power of democracy through local governance. we've shown a spotlight on the importance of protecting media freedom and how advancing the status of women and girls is an investment in the success for our democracies. and we've focused on the need to empower human rights defenders and make sure technological and -- technology enables so much of our lives that is used to advance democracies to lift people up, not to hold them down. we've heard the concerns of young people who have had a greater stake in the future than anyone else and they've made that clear, about what matters to them most and how important it is to make sure their voices are included in our democracies. and though each of our nations faces unique challenges and many of these specific circumstances are different, the threat we face and the solutions we seek have a common antecedent. this is not a struggle of anyone facing it alone. it's all of us. and the commitments we've made to ourselves, to our own people, to one another, will not only strengthen our own democracies by pushing back against autocracies, fighting corruption, and promoting human rights for all people. this will help seed fertile ground for democracies to bloom around the world. and i'm so encouraged by the energy and the enthusiasm we've seen to rally people around the world in support of our shared democratic values. just one example. in advance of the summit, the presidents of panama, costa rica, and the dominican republic formed, quote, an alliance to strengthen democratic institutions, end of quote, to cooperate. to cooperate on transparency, human rights, economic development, and strengthening democracy throughout the region. this is the sort of inspiring commitment to partnerships that i hope we'll see more of in the next overaction. i hope that even of our countries will mention the results of their efforts to we can report back on our progress at a second summit for democracy next year. and i hope to welcome each of you in person. for our part, as i said yesterday, the united states is committed to strengthening our democracy at home and to work with parties around the world, around the globe, to prove that democracies can deliver for people on issues that matter most to them. here at home, that means working to make real the full promise of america, including by enacting both the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act,