. >> i promise to read your bobby back, but i know as a young man you worked as a speech writer for jimmy cart he and my name is kai byrd and i'm writing a biography of carter and i wonder how you look back on the-- >> i don't don't y-- why don't you call me up? i think that jamie carter was an honest guy with not a great executive ability. he tried things, human rights and nuclear arms proliferation that we're dealing with today. he knew what he was talking about and i thought-- he just didn't have that background in political ability to pull together a governing group and he wasn't a liberal in a liberal party, which is a problem. he was much more of a moderate and the kennedy people were much more in tune with the party, but i loved it. i'm flying around with air force one. i'm smoking cigarettes, drinking good white wine, writing speeches for the president of the united states and on air force one and even when they took off diagonally, straight up. and rick and i, the top guy, knocking out index card speeches. you can't beat it and the president of the united states is going to give your speech when he stops. it wa

bobby byrd said, quote, not only has rich been a lifelong democratic party activist, he's also been a very competent advocate for delaware's business community. he is truly an example of the delaware way, close quote. though rich is now retiring, his voice and his counsel will never be far away. and in retirement, his sports teams will be just a bit closer. i personally wanted to say to rich my great thanks for the many ways in which you've encouraged and advised and supported me in the eight years i worked in the private sector in manufacturing and the ten years i served in county government and now in my seven years here in the senate. many in this body find this hard to understand, and senator carper and i talked talk about this delaware way where we all work together and find ways to solve problems. but the idea that a democratic party activist is the long-regarded head of our chamber of commerce is just one small example of that delaware way. and, rich, no one has been a better, more trusted source of advice to business leaders, community leaders, political leaders alike that un.