Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I wish I could say I was rising today to just debate some of the normal issues we talk about. Like most of my colleagues, probably, I rise today a bit embarrassed--not a bit but really embarrassed that we are here under these circumstances. People across Virginia cannot understand why we can't get this done. I had the honor of serving as the Governor of Virginia. I am a Democrat, and I had a two-to-one Republican legislature. We got things done. We compromised. We found that common ground that now seems to be viewed as a bad place to be. Mr. President, I agree with the Senator from Indiana that whatever number we agree on today, that doesn't take us very far when you have a $1.6 trillion deficit and a $14 trillion debt. If this debate is showing anything, it is that there is not going to be a way to get there unless we can frame this in a bipartisan way. I agree with the Senator from Indiana that we ought to take the framework of the Simpson-Bowles plan and put it forward. There are a group of Democrats and Republicans who are trying to do that, and a lot of other Members would like to be part of that as well. We ought to take one lesson from this debate--that we are not going to solve the bigger problem unless we can start on a bipartisan basis. We have heard this morning back-and-forth about what is holding this up. I am not in the negotiating room. I wish I were. I don't know what is holding it up.…”