levels of strength and courage we didn't know we had. ali's impact was not limited to those of a certain race or a certain religion or a certain mindset. the greatness of this man, for the ages, was that he was, in fact, a man for all ages. has any man ever scripted a greater earth to his life? wh does it say of a man, any man, that he can go from being viewed as one of his country's most polarizing figures to arguably his most beloved. [applause]

and to do so without changing his nature or for a second compromising his principles. you know there were great causes, great national movements. there were huge divisions that afforded ali unusual opportunities to symbolize our struggles, but harry truman had it right when he said men make history and not the other way around. for, as lauren hill so nicely put it, consequence is no coincidence. befitting his stature as the goat, muhammad ali never shied away from a fight. he fought not the biggest and baddest of his day inside the ropes, but outside the ring he also went toe to toe with an array of critics, endless

succession of societal norms, the architect of a vial, immoral war, the u.s. government, he his thought, ultimately to betterment, the limitations of father time. strictly speaking, fighting is what he did. he broadened that definition by sharing his struggles with us and by viewing our struggles as his. so it was that at various times he accepted and led battles on , inlf of of his race support of his generation, in defense of his religious beliefs , and ultimately, in spite of his disease. i happen to have been overseas

working in norway this past week when my buddy matt called. told me the champ have been taken to the hospital. and this time it was really serious. lonnie, whoi called was, as always, a pillar of strength. as we discussed the medical views, ande doctor the ugly realities of mortality, lion -- lonnie said "bryant, the him." till needs indeed it does. the world needs a champion who will always work to bridge the economic and social divides that threaten the nation that he dearly loved. the world needs a champion that

always symbolized the best of islam to offset the hatred born .s fear the world needs a champion who believed in fairness and , hating peoplell because of their color is wrong, ali said, and it doesn't matter which color does the hating, it is just plain wrong. [applause] we do need muhammad ali now. we need the strength, the hope, the compassion, and the conviction that he demonstrated. this time our beloved champion , is down, and for once he will not get up. not this time. not ever again. let me close with a quick personal story.

50 years ago, muhammad ali beat -- defeated george trevalo in toronto, canada. the very next day, he showed up in my neighborhood on the south side of chicago. car in theout of the driveway, i happen to be next-door shooting hoops in a friend's backyard. i, of course, quickly ran to the fence and for the first time in my life, i shook the champ's hand. i was 17. i was awe struck and i thought he was the greatest. now, half a century and a lifetime of experiences later, i

am still awestruck and i'm convinced more than ever that muhammad ali is the greatest. [applause] to be standing here by virtue of his and lonnie's request, it's mind numbing. the honor that ali has done me today as he goes to his grave is one that i will take to mine. god bless you, champ. [applause] announcer: sunday, we will feature a live discussion on the

presidency of barack obama. includes april ryan, white house correspondent for american urban radio network and author of "the presidency in black and white." princeton university professor eddie blau. and pulitzer prize-winning journalist and associate editor of "the washington post." live from noon" to 3:00 pm eastern on sunday. >> new year's night on q and a. >> people were starving and then urine-- people were starving and van bur en was having parties in washington. here was this rich man in washington sneering at the poor

people. manison was a very wealthy and the trade as the champion of the poor. women gave -- came to the parades and waved handkerchiefs. some gave speeches and they were criticized by democrats that said the women should be home at home -- should be at home making putting. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span "q&a." 2016ncer: in memoriam continues with remarks from former arkansas senator dale bumpers. he died in january at the age of 90. shortly after his retirement, he 1999 to in january deliver the closing argument for the defense in the impeachment trial of president bill clinton,

who he had known her decades as a fellow arkansas politician. here is a portion of those remarks. the question is, how do we come to be here? we are here because of a five-year, relentless, unending, investigation of the president. $50 billion, hundreds of fbi agents spanning across the nation examining in detail, a microscopic -- the microscopic lives of people. maybe the most intense investigation not only of a president, but anybody, ever. state strongly about this because this is my state and what we have endured. you will have to excuse me, but

that investigation has also shown that the judicial system does and will get out of kilter unless it is controlled. people,e innocent innocent people who have been financially and mentally bankrupt. one woman told me two years ago wereher legal fees $95,000. if she said "i do not have $95,000, the only asked that i have is the equity in my home which just happens to correspond $95,000.al fees of the only thing i can think of to do is to deed my home." .his woman was innocent since that time, she has accumulated an additional $200,000 in attorney fees.

i doubt that there are few people, maybe nobody in this body, who could withstand such and in this case, those summoned were terrified, not because of their guilt, but because they felt guilt or innocence was not really relevant. after all of those years and $50 of whitewater, travel dates, foul gate, you name it, nothing, nothing. the president was found guilty , official or personal . we are here today because the president suffered a terrible

marital infidelity, not a breach of the public trust, not a crime against society, the two things talked about in the federal papers number 65. i recommend it to you before you vote, but it was a breach of marriage vows, it was a breach of his family trust. it is a sex scandal. hl mencken said when you hear somebody said this is not about money, it is about money. [laughter] saywhen you hear somebody this is not about sex, it is about sex.

you pick your own additive to describe the president -- adjective to describe the president's conduct. here is some i would use, indefensible, outrageous, , iorgivable, shameless promise you the president would not contest any of those or any a humanbut there is element in this case that has not even been mentioned, that is the president and hillary and chelsea are human beings. this is intended only as a mild criticism of our distinguished friends in the house, but as i listened to the presenters to the managers make their opening remarkably they were well prepared and they spoke eloquently, more eloquent than i .eally had hoped

when i talk about the human element, i talk about what i thought was on occasion, unnecessarily harsh and pejorative descriptions of the president. i thought that the language should have been tempered somewhat to a knowledge that he , to sayresident constantly that the president lied about this and lied about that, as i say, i thought that was too much for a family that has already been about as decimated as a family can get. the relationship between husband child, hasather and been incredibly strained, if not destroyed. there has been nothing but sleepless nights, mental agony

onlyor this family for that for almost five years. .ay after day bizarre, but i did impression -- any compassion and perhaps, none is deserved. the president has said for all to hear, that he must -- that he misled and deceived. he did not want to be helpful to the prosecution and he did all of those things to his family, to his friends, to his staff, to his cabinet, and to the american people. why would he do that? , he knew this whole affair was about to bring unspeakable

embarrassment and humiliation on himself, his wife, whom he adored, and a child that he worshiped with every fiber in .is body happilyr whom he would died to spare her this or to .ediate her shame and grief shame and embarrassment is no excuse for lying. the question about lying is your you,ion, but i can tell you put yourself in his position and you have already had this big moral lapse as to what u