Friends from both sides of the aisle stood shoulder-to-shoulder Thursday in the
Friends from both sides of the aisle stood shoulder-to-shoulder Thursday in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda to remember the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), who became the first Asian American afforded the honor of lying in state at a revered spot.
The event forced small talk among leaders in sharp disagreement over how to avert the series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in January. Before the ceremony began, Vice President Biden, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Reid engaged in a brief, if awkward-looking conversation.
It was a quiet, unassuming memorial for a quiet, unassuming senator.
Friends from both sides of the aisle stood shoulder-to-shoulder Thursday in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda to remember the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii), who became the first Asian-American afforded the honor of lying in state at the revered spot.
The Rotunda ceremony for the senator, who died Monday at age 88, placed him on a list that includes presidents, lawmakers and generals, two slain U.S. Capitol Police officers and civil rights icon Rosa Parks. Like most of them, Inouye rested on a catafalque constructed for the President Lincoln’s 1865 memorial service.
“Dan Inouye was an institution and deserves to spend at least another day in this beautiful building,” Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said during the ceremony.
Reid called his colleague a “soft and powerful voice for the people of Hawaii” who “was a vibrant and vital presence in the Senate, and in death he will remain a legend.”
Inouye’s casket, draped in an American flag, was carried into the Rotunda by members of the U.S. military. Around it stood Inouye’s family, friends and staff, members of the diplomatic corps, four Cabinet secretaries, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and dozens of current and former lawmakers.
The event forced small talk among leaders in sharp disagreement over how to avert the series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect in January. Before the ceremony began, Vice President Biden, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Reid engaged in a brief, if awkward-looking conversation.
Daniel Inouye, Internment, the 442nd and “The War”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-daniel-inouye-honored-in-us-capitol-rotunda/2012/12/20/99318dc2-4a16-11e2-ad54-580638ede391_story.html