It was an exit with grace, class and taste — just what you expect from Johnny Isakson.

Isakson is ending his career of elected service on December 31. He has been a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, the Georgia Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and now for the last 15 years.

His farewell speech drew many of his Senate colleagues and even current U.S. House Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta). In a time when few members of either party can find something good to say about someone in the opposite party, Lewis had nothing but praise for Isakson. 

That in itself speaks to Isakson’s attitude toward across party and ideological lines.

“Bipartisan doesn’t mean a Democrat and a Republican talk to each other every once in a while,” Isakson said in his farewell address. “It means that two people come together, probably have differences — probably have a lot of differences — but they find a way to get to the end of the trial where there is a possibility of a solution.”

Isakson’s term will be finished by Kelly Loeffler, only the second woman to serve in the U.S. Senate from Georgia. The first, Rebecca Felton, was in office for exactly one day in 1922. Loeffler will hold the seat until a special election next November. 

Isakson praised Loeffler, a financial services executive. On Wednesday, Gov Brian Kemp appointed Loeffler to fill the seat until the special election for the remainder of Isakson’s six-year term.

“The same tireless work ethic that has helped her succeed in business will also help her succeed in serving Georgians and our nation,” Isakson said. “It has been the honor of a lifetime for me to serve this great state in the U.S. Senate, and my staff and I will work closely with Kelly to ensure a smooth transition.” 

Isakson also decried the kind of behavior and rhetoric that damages the nation, citing the incidents around a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“We’re better than the hate and vile statements that some people make, and we’ve got to be better than that,” he said.

One of the last of a breed facing extinction is leaving Capitol Hill. Our state and nation have been better because of Sen. Isakson’s service and tireless work. Sen. Loeffler has, as the cliché goes, very big shoes to fill. For now, though, we will miss the temperament and even-handedness Isakson displayed in a political climate now far too often fraught with grandstanding, bile and vitriol.