On the recordSeptember 20, 2011
I see on the floor today my friend Lamar Alexander from the great State of Tennessee. I just received a news flash that he was going to relinquish his leadership position and stay in the Senate and run for reelection. I do not know all the reasons for his doing this, but I want the record to be spread with the fact that I have found Lamar Alexander to be one of the most thoughtful people I have ever served with in the Senate. There are many issues he gets no credit for that were resolved because of his ability to see the big picture. We had this big issue dealing with the so-called nuclear option, as to what would happen in the Senate with some of our rules changes. He stepped in, completely out of the limelight, and because of his idea we resolved that issue. There are many other examples such as that. He is a unique person in this body. He accomplishes a great deal and gets credit for not a lot, and that is unfortunate. But that is who he is and who he has always been. I know he will continue being a stalwart in the Senate. I look forward to working with him, but I look forward mostly to his sense of fairness, which he has been so very exemplary during my time with him in the Senate. ____________________
