[applause] >> i was working for senator joe tydings as steny indicated. steny was a young state senator at that time from prince george's county. in the waning days of joe tidings losing campaign we were in the carroll arms hotel on capitol hill. no tv cameras came but steny was standi standing alone in the back. when i asked him why he was there, he simply said i was with joe tydings at the beginning and i will be with joe tydings at the very end. i have never forgotten that lesson and i hope i never will. my friend joe lieberman was here and i was had hartford the night that he lost his primary because i wanted to be with him because he was my friend and he's given so much to this country and, thank god, he was able to win that election and come back to t the u.s. senate. but i learned that lesson from steny hoyer. those who know me best know that i'm not one to shy away from a fig fight. ginger says i'm downright combative. lord knows i'm a democrat. i have never voted for a republican in my life and i probably never will. but i'm disgusted with the pol