Farewell to the Senate
Floor Speech
FAREWELL TO THE SENATE -- (Senate - January 16, 2009)
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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I am so honored to be here with my friend, Ken Salazar. When I think about Ken Salazar, I think about Ken Salazar in Colorado in his beautiful mountains, and I think of the idea of him going to be the head of the Department of the Interior is something that is a gift to this country.
But I wish to tell one story about Ken. He and I were in Colorado together, out there for Barack Obama, and they had a big RV with the President-elect's picture on it. And Ken Salazar is the only Senator who would insist on driving the RV on his own. He did it in style, with his big cowboy hat on. There we were, in the middle of the mountains on this winding road, when all of a sudden we see flashing lights behind us. Sure enough, we were being
pulled over. There were 20 people in this RV and a caravan of media behind us. Ken was as calm as he could be. He pulled over to the side of the road, the deputy comes up--with his big cowboy hat on--and Ken rolls down the window and says: Can I help you?
Of course, we think he is getting a ticket for speeding, and he was ready to accept whatever this was. But the deputy says: Sir, your license tabs are in the wrong corner.
And so Ken said: Oh, so sorry. And he gets out with this deputy looking on and with the caravan of media behind with all the cameras, and a press guy yelling: This is off the record.
So Ken's picture is there in the Denver Post trying to change his license tabs around the corners.
But it was Ken Salazar who wanted to have that moment and that freedom of driving through the mountains of Colorado at whatever the cost, and he will be a true tribute to his home State and to this country.
I am taking over the Prayer Breakfast from Ken, and I have seen firsthand his great faith in God but also the faith he has in his family, whom I see here, and the people of this country. We are all very lucky to have him, though we will miss him as a mentor and friend in the Senate.
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