"Mr. President, I rise to speak about John McCain. Mr. President, as one of those rising to pay tribute, I'm perhaps one of the least qualified to do so. I say that although John McCain and I served together, it was only for the last four years of a storied Senate career, and we were not on any common committees. But let me say why I am qualified. "In that brief period, I say firsthand that which others rise and speak of from many more years of acquaintance. I speak of 2014 when I was running for Senate for the first time and John McCain came to Louisiana to campaign on my behalf. And it was remark to believe see how veterans responded to him. "And we would go -- oh, my gosh, it was a sort of schedule that is legendary for John McCain. We started off in Covington, Louisiana, then went to New Orleans, and then went to Baton Rouge, to Lafayette, drove up to Shreveport and came back to New Orleans -- all in one day. And others would have been tired. He was energized. "He taught me about social media. Folks would come up to him and wish to have their picture taken. He was take a selfie and he would say, post it on Facebook. And sure enough they d and in that way, his contact with people would from just the group meeting -- always incredibly well attended -- to the individual meeting, to everybody who those folks are reaching out to Facebook. But even that is not the story of which I wish to tell. "We're in this incredibly intense schedule in which we are meeting one person after of another and in -- after another, and in Slovenia port as we're talking out, a fellow handed John McCain a in a moment he said, Senator, that is fellow who is a fellow Vietnam vet. He is in the hospital now and cannot come. And he would love to hear from you. "And here is his phone number. So we get in the car and John picks up his phone and he calls. And he says, hello, my friend. This is John McCain. I'm sorry you're under the weather. Tell me about it. And spoke to the man. "And as one Vietnam veteran to another, reaching through that wire, making that man know that he was deeply cared for and honored for his service to our country and his sacrifice for our country. That tells me a measure of John McCain. In this incredibly intense schedule, finding that moment to reach out to an individual to let him know how much he was valued as an American. So, Mr. President, I rise to speak briefly, and I started by saying I am probably among the least qualified. But perhaps be cause of my brief interaction and the quality of the interaction and the intensity of how John McCain presented himself not just to me, not just to his fellow American but to all the voters of Louisiana, I might be the best qualified, the best qualified because even in that glimpse you see that which made John McCain a great American, bringing it all, all the time, for everybody who lives in this country to represent this country as best as possibly to the rest of the world and in so doing ser ved not just our country but the rest of the world."

08.28.18