Chris Dodd: “I think we have finally come to realize--maybe it takes some of us longer than others--that any product that is going to…”

“I think we have finally come to realize--maybe it takes some of us longer than others--that any product that is going to have much merit requires that it be one reached on a bipartisan basis. The very fact that this institution is divided about as equally as it can be demands that. I have served in this Chamber in the minority by a significant number of seats, and I have served in the majority by a significant number of seats. I have served in this Chamber, obviously, as we all do today, when we have been evenly divided. Under any set of circumstances short of an overwhelming number, measures need to be worked out with each other. We have to sit down and resolve differences across party lines. The Senator from Nevada is a master at it. He was generous in his comments about the Senator from Connecticut. All of us admire the patience, the diligence, and the tenacity of Senator Reid. There is no one who fights harder and spends more time every day to try to make things happen.”