Stevens' Farewell: "I Look Only Forward"

Sen. Ted Stevens bid adieu today to the U.S. Senate in which he has served for four decades. Stevens, convicted on corruption charges last month, narrowly lost his re-election bid to Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, a Democrat.

Today, in an 11-minute speech from the Senate floor, Stevens thanked his family and colleagues, noted his many committee chairmanships and said he is looking forward not back. He also heralded the resources of his "great state" and said it now plays a critical role in securing America's energy needs and, relatedly, the country's national security. Stevens, the longest serving Republican senator in history, remarked on all that had changed in Alaska since he first took office.

"When I came to the Senate, Alaska had been a state for less than a decade," he noted. "We were then more of an impoverished territory than a full-fledged state."

Stevens said he has represented his state's residents to the best of his ability. He said he must leave one home -- the Senate -- to return to another. But both, he said, he holds in his heart.

"I feel blessed by God to have had the opportunity to serve in this body," he said.

When Stevens concluded his remarks, his colleagues rose to their feet and applauded him warmly.

(JS)