July 2012
“As Americans, we don’t expect handouts—but we do expect hard work to pay off. We expect responsibility to be rewarded.”
—President of the United States Barack Obama on July 19, 2012 at a rally in Jacksonville, FL.
John McCain defends Huma Abedin against accusations she’s part of conspiracy →
washingtonpost.com
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) struck back hard at unproven accusations Wednesday that a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is part of a conspiracy by the Muslim Brotherhood to infiltrate the top reaches of the U.S. government.
McCain, often considered the GOP’s leading voice on foreign affairs, said the accusations made by House Republicans against Huma Abedin are “an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.”
In a floor speech Wednesday, McCain defended Abedin, calling her “an intelligent, upstanding, hard-working and loyal servant of our country and our government, who has devoted countless days of her life to advancing the ideals of the nation she loves and looking after its most precious interests. That she has done so while maintaining her characteristic decency, warmth and good humor is a testament to her ability to bear even the most arduous duties with poise and confidence.
“Put simply, Huma represents what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies so fully,” McCain said. “I am proud to know Huma and to call her my friend.”
Undoubtedly, the best quote from McCain is this one:
“Ultimately, what is at stake in this matter is larger even than the reputation of one person,” McCain said. “This is about who we are as a nation and who we still aspire to be. What makes America exceptional among the countries of the world is that we are bound together as citizens not by blood or class, not by sect or ethnicity, but by a set of enduring, universal and equal rights that are the foundation of our constitution, our laws, our citizenry, and our identity. When anyone, not least a member of Congress, launches specious and degrading attacks against fellow Americans on the basis of nothing more than fear of who they are and ignorance of what they stand for, it defames the spirit of our nation, and we all grow poorer because of it.”
“People dress up for funerals. Why not dress up to celebrate that you’re alive?”
— Gay Talese. (Quote taken from a fun Wall Street Journal article about Mr. Talese’s style)
