John Kerry Chokes Up While Giving Farewell Speech to the Senate

Posted on January 30, 2013

Senator John Kerry said farewell to the Senate today in an hour long speech. Kerry is leaving to become the next Secretary of State, after being confirmed by his colleagues. He replaces Hillary Clinton, who retired from the position. In this clip, Kerry chokes up when he talks about how the desk he's using belonged once to President Kennedy and then to Ted Kennedy. In the self-deprecating speech, Kerry noted that the best lessons come not from victory but from picking one's self up after defeat. Referring to his defeat in the presidential election against George Bush, Kerry joked that 61 million voters voted to keep him in the Senate. Take a look: