Oath Taking Congratulations Quotes

I think too many people take advantage of their right to cloister, to live in their little echo chambers, to settle into small societies of like-minded souls, never taking the time to test and strengthen the rightness of their beliefs through searching inquiry, vigorous debate, and open dialogue. There is no such luxury at a criminal trial. There you cannot hide in your self-absorbed bunker, especially if you are the prosecutor. People are paid and obliged by oath and blessed by the Constitution. To do what? To attack every single allegation and argument you have made. And to do it with great zeal. So in that world you have to engage with your critics. And you must engage using facts, truth, and logic. You cannot just say, “I believe this” or “These are my alternative facts.” Honest engagement is the essence of the job. And it is the most exhilarating thing in the world. We malign lawyers as litigious and combative, often deservedly so, but I vastly prefer the spirit of respectful engagement and combat to what we have now in so many parts of society—siloed self-congratulation, self-affirmation, without risk of challenge or dissent or real and respectful debate.

At the Capitol [on inauguration day], an icy wind swept across the East Front in the brilliant sunshine. As [President John F.] Kennedy made his way down the aisle to his seat, he saw Congressman Tip O'Neill, who held J.F.K.'s old House seat, together with George Kara, an affluent Boston businessman with a reputation for showing up, Zelig-like, in the most unexpected places without the requisite tickets. O'Neill recalled that Kara had nudged him and said, 'Years from now historians will wonder what was on the young man's mind as he strode to take his oath of office. I bet he's asking himself how George Kara got such a good seat.' That night, O'Neill and his wife danced over to the president's box at the ball in the Mayflower Hotel to congratulate him, and sure enough, Kennedy asked, 'Was that George Kara sitting beside you?' O'Neill told Kennedy what Kara had said. And J.F.K. replied, ‘Tip: you'll never believe it. I had my left hand on the Bible and my right hand in the air, and I was about to take the oath of office, and I said to myself, "How the hell did Kara get that seat?’” Todd S. Purdum, “From That Day Forth,” February 2011