Senator John Kerry will be Senator John Kerry no more, but before his resignation took effect this afternoon — Kerry was confirmed yesterday as Secretary of State, and Mo Cowan was appointed this morning to temporarily replace him — the five-term Massachusetts Senator delivered a 51-minute-long farewell speech on the Senate floor. Kerry addressed the Senate's legacy ("There is nothing wrong with the Senate that can't be fixed with what is right in the Senate"), thanked reporters for constantly accosting him, and, in one emotional moment, considered his Senate predecessors:

Standing here are this desk, that once belonged ... .... at this desk that once belonged to President Kennedy, and to Ted Kennedy, I can't help be reminded that even our nation's greatest leaders and all the rest of us are merely temporary workers.

Watch a clip from Kerry's speech below:

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J.K. Trotter