America lost a real patriot today.
Tom Foley was a remarkable man. He was part of a bipartisan group of legislators who were quiet, unassuming, collegial, reaching across the aisle to work together despite ideological and partisan differences.
It was symbolically fitting that the last time Callista and I saw Speaker Foley was at Republican Leader Bob Michel's 90th birthday party. Tom and his wife Heather were there to celebrate their longtime friend's ninth decade. Speaker Foley was in a wheelchair, but he was cheerfully chatting with all of his old friends from both sides of the aisle.
I first met Speaker Foley in 1980 when he was the distinguished chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and I was an unknown freshman. Chief of Naval Operations Tom Hayward had invited a small group of members to dinner to discuss national security. Toward the end of the evening I listened as Foley told story after story about the human side of politics and legislation. A number of his stories made fun of his own experiences. He taught me a lot about the importance of humility and keeping a sense of proportion.
One story that has stuck with me ever since was about the member of Congress who got up and began a speech about a problem. As he listened to his own speech he got angry about the facts he was hearing. Then he expressed his anger with strong language. Listening to his own words he began to get indignant about the outrage he was reporting to the House. Finally, after fifteen minutes or so, he had talked himself into hysteria based on his own speech. There have been many times when I listened to members of both parties resemble the Foley story and I have had to laugh at how vividly he captured their behavior.
Speaker Foley was an excellent debater. In one heated late night debate he caught me in an obvious inconsistency. He jumped in and hammered me so brilliantly that all I could do was stand up and give him a bow. He smiled and bowed back. The hundred or so members on the House floor applauded our mutual respect and good sportsmanship.
When I was elected the first Republican Speaker in forty years in a wave election in which Speaker Foley lost his own seat, he accepted the outcome with remarkable grace. He promptly called and offered to do everything he could to make the transfer of authority (the first in four decades) as smooth as possible.
A few days later he called and said Israeli Prime Minister Rabin was very eager to meet. I came to Speaker Foley's office. In that first meeting as Speaker-elect with a foreign leader, Prime Minister Rabin spoke of his deep fear of Iran. That was 19 years ago. It has only gotten worse since then.
After leaving the House, Speaker Foley was a very effective Ambassador to Japan. He represented America with great skill and enthusiasm.
After President George W. Bush was elected, Speaker Foley agreed to serve on the Defense Policy Board. He and I worked together on a number of key issues on that board.
Watching the recent mess in Washington, it struck me that we could use a few more Tom Foleys and Bob Michels reaching across the aisle, using good humor, and trying to find acceptable solutions.
Callista and I ask you to join us in remembering the Foley family in your prayers.
Your Friend,
Newt
