American lore holds that, on the eve of resigning his triumphant commission after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, George Washington told a room full of his trusted officers: "I cannot come to each of you, but shall feel obliged if each of you will come and take me by the hand," after which the great man was said to have been overcome with emotion and wept.
So it is heartening to see, nearly 250 years later, our elder statesmen still know when to shed a good old-fashioned tear or two:
You can just feel the sheer American heart and soul flowing throughout the room. Why, the crowd was so moved by this breathtaking display of stately republican sentiment that they almost forgot to clap!
When Katherine Bates wrote those stirring lyrics to "America, the Beautiful" in 1895...
O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years,Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears!
...she would surely make an allowance for the "human tears" shed by our great conservative leader, John Boehner.
