Ex-senator gets Congressional Gold Medal

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The first black elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate received the Congressional Gold Medal Wednesday from the first black U.S. president.

Edward Brooke, 90, was a Republican senator from Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979.

"At a time when so many doors were closed to African-Americans, others might have become angry or disillusioned," President Barack Obama said Wednesday during the ceremony honoring Brooke with Congress's highest honor. "They might have concluded that no matter how hard they worked, their horizons would always be limited. So why bother? Not Ed Brooke."

Obama also praised Brooke's ability to reach across the aisle.

"I don't know anyone else whose fan base includes Gloria Steinem, Barney Frank and Ted Kennedy -- as well as Mitch McConnell, Mitt Romney and George W. Bush," Obama said to a round of laughter. "That's a coalition-builder."

Perhaps a better way to honor Brooke would be to emulate the spirit he embraced, Obama said.

Brooke's spirit and legacy are "to compete aggressively at the polls, but then work selflessly together to serve the nation we love; to look for the best in each other, to give each other the benefit of the doubt, and to remember that we're here for a purpose far greater than the sum of our own hopes, needs and ambitions," Obama said. "And may we each do our part to carry it forward."

Brooke thanked the president and the congressional leaders for the honor, CNN reported.

"I love this country, since the day I was born, and I was born in the nation's capital on Oct. 26, 1919," he said.

Brooke also urged cooperation among political leaders

"We can't worry that you all can't get together," he said. "You've got to get together. We have no alternative. There's nothing left. It's time for politics to be put aside on the back burner."