Remembering Alaska Senator Ted Stevens
https://preview-archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=50462
General Information
Source:
Creator:
Event Date:
Air/Publish Date:
NBC Nightly News
Ann Curry/Andrea
Mitchell
08/10/2010
08/10/2010
Resource Type:
Copyright:
Copyright Date:
Clip Length
Video News Report
NBCUniversal Media,
LLC.
2010
00:02:30
Description
Former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, who died in an airplane crash, was a powerful figure in Washington
for four decades, as the longest-serving Republican senator and the chairman of the Appropriations
Committee.
Keywords
Ted Stevens, Alaska, Daniel Inouye, United States Senate, Republican Party, Politician, Senate
Appropriations Committee, Plane Crash, Death, Ethics, Scandal, Elections
Citation
MLA
"Remembering Alaska Senator Ted Stevens." Andrea Mitchell, correspondent. NBC Nightly News.
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 1 of 3
NBCUniversal Media. 10 Aug. 2010. NBC Learn. Web. 4 February 2015
APA
Mitchell, A. (Reporter), & Curry, A. (Anchor). 2010, August 10. Remembering Alaska Senator Ted
Stevens. [Television series episode]. NBC Nightly News. Retrieved from https://previewarchives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=50462
CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE
"Remembering Alaska Senator Ted Stevens" NBC Nightly News, New York, NY: NBC Universal,
08/10/2010. Accessed Wed Feb 4 2015 from NBC Learn: https://previewarchives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=50462
Transcript
Remembering Alaska Senator Ted Stevens
ANN CURRY, anchor:
Former Senator Ted Stevens had a long and significant impact on American politics, but not without
controversy. And he even spoke about the risks of air travel in parts of Alaska. NBC's Andrea Mitchell
has more on his career.
ANDREA MITCHELL reporting:
Ted Stevens was an institution in Washington and Alaska for four decades, the longest serving Republican
senator.
Senator TED STEVENS (File): My motto has been here, to hell with politics. Just do what's right for
Alaska.
MITCHELL: A decorated World War II pilot, first elected in 1968, Stevens was alternately loved and
feared for his power as appropriations chairman.
Senator DANIEL INOUYE (Democrat, Hawaii): Sometimes he would raise his voice against you, but he
was a gentle person, a very soft-hearted one.
MITCHELL: It was a time when senators worked across party lines, as recalled today by a fellow World
War II veteran, Hawaii Democrat, Daniel Inouye.
INOUYE: We got to a point where he would come to Hawaii to campaign for me and I'd do the same in
Alaska.
MITCHELL: In a terrible twist of fate, Stevens had survived another plane crash in 1978 that tragically
killed his first wife, Ann, as reported by David Brinkley on Nightly News.
DAVID BRINKLEY (File): Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, was injured in another plane
crash in Anchorage that killed his wife and four others.
MITCHELL: Two years later Stevens married his second wife, Catherine.
ALAN SIMPSON (Former Senator, Republican, Wyoming): He was a jovial. He loved life, he was full of
vigor and life. Cathy enlightened his life. The tragedy, of course, was that his first wife was killed in a--in
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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a airplane crash.
MITCHELL: Then political scandal --ethics charges for allegedly failing to report gifts and home
renovations from contractors-- leading to a conviction that cost him his final election. A conviction
overturned a year later on grounds of the prosecutor's misconduct.
SIMPSON: Then to lose the election and be completely exonerated, but I didn't sense a bit of bitterness in
him. That was amazing.
STEVENS (File): God bless the Senate and every member of this body. I yield the floor for the last time.
MITCHELL: After a former colleague, Paul Wellstone, died in a plane crash, Ted Stevens said every time
you go up, there is a chance you won't come down. Tonight, President and Mrs. Obama issued a statement
of condolence, praising Stevens for his service to the people of Alaska and to our men and women in
uniform. Ann.
CURRY: All right, Andrea Mitchell tonight. Andrea, thank you.
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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