Political Quotes

“President, first, the distinguished Senator from Florida referred to a Los Angeles Times article. I think that article should be placed in the Record following the colloquy between myself and the distinguished Senator from Florida and the Senator from Texas. Also, I am not sure that we should make decisions here based on one report of one newspaper. I am not impugning the Times; it is an outstanding newspaper. But we just do not have any corroboration of some of the statements. I point out they refer to the amnesty plan which currently would include insurgents alleged to have staged attacks against Americans and Iraqis. The second sentence down is the reconciliation plan which is expected to be formally announced soon. So that plan is in the making. There is still some formulation of policy going on. It is for that reason that I believe a strong vote on both of these amendments sends a subtle message about our concern. Let us assume for the moment that that plan has not been made formal. I inquired of the Department of State as to whether or not anything had transpired over the weekend. There was one meeting between Prime Minister Maliki and the charges d'affaires of the American Embassy. The charges d'affaires reported back to the Department of State. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator's time has expired.”