“Filibusters have proliferated because under current rules just one or two determined senators can stop the Senate from functioning. Today, the mere threat of a filibuster is enough to stop a vote; senators are rarely asked to pull all-nighters like Jimmy Stewart in 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.'”

“The things I learned from the army - and I think it was a lesson for life - was how to work in unison with other people. How to take responsibility.”