Senator George Mitchell

Transcript

SENATOR GEORGE MITCHELL, Maine

I would say that he was the stereotype of the American Midwesterner, tall and lanky, plainspoken, very direct, not a lot of adjectives and adverbs. He was what I believe to be the true embodiment of the compassionate conservative. He did have conservative views socially, politically, and in other respects, and again I’m repeating now, I think probably based upon his own life experience, had a profound compassion for people who suffered for a variety of reasons. I don’t think his compassion was limited to those who were specifically disabled, physically disabled or mentally, but, who were handicapped in any other way by circumstance and so forth. Very pragmatic. I don’t ever remember him making ideological statements. There was a real intention to get things done. “Here’s a problem. How do you solve it?” To me that’s quintessentially American.