Senate panel approves Kerry nomination unanimously

[MBS]

19. I loved this resolution

This is complete and correct description of who this man is. Totally fabulous.

Hard to pick out my favorite lines, but these were especially sweet:

. .. has served Massachusetts and the United States with honor, conviction and a sense of civility that is grounded in respect for others and for the seriousness of the times;

Whereas John Kerry has led difficult, sensitive and comprehensive investigations in the Senate on everything from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International and illegal money laundering to the Noriega regime in Panama;

Whereas John Kerry’s patience, fair-mindedness and tenacity were invaluable in securing Senate advice and consent to ratification of the New START Treaty with Russia;

Whereas John Kerry’s early and bold advocacy of a no-fly zone over Libya helped save thousands of civilians from being massacred;

Whereas John Kerry was a voice of courage and conscience in calling for President Hosni Mubarak to step aside and begin an orderly and peaceful transition to a democratic political system in Egypt;

Whereas John Kerry has been the keeper of the Senate’s conscience on global climate change and the transition to a clean energy future;

Whereas John Kerry will be the ninth Secretary of State from Massachusetts, continuing in the footsteps of leaders including John Quincy Adams and Daniel Webster, and, joined by figures such as Henry Clay, he is the fourth Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to ascend to this cabinet post and the first as Chairman since John Sherman who served from 1897-1898;

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, that the Committee on Foreign Relations—
Commends the long and distinguished service of John F. Kerry, whose exceptional skill as a lawmaker is matched only by his commitment to an America that is, in President John F. Kennedy’s phrase, not “first but, first when, first if, but first period”; and
Extends its best wishes for his continuing service to the Nation.

Oh, yeah. He SO deserves this recognition.
Congratulations, Sen. Kerry. And best wishes for an exciting (well, hopefully, not TOO exciting) and deeply rewarding experience at State.