president? the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. oh, the republican leader. i'm not awake this morning. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: last night the president explained to the nation the crisis that we face right now as he sees it. his hope was to lift the debate up out of the gritty legislative particulars, and we all understand that. unfortunately, the situation the president described last night bears very little resemblance to the realities on the ground right here in washington. i know the president would rather give speeches about our problems than resolve them, but he wasn't elected to talk about the united states; he was elected to lead it. in our system of government, that means working with people and a congress that you sometimes disagree with. this is not a unique situation. other presidents have been in a similar situation where...

of people, many of whom disagreed with them. last night the president rejected not just the only proposal that has passed either house of congress, he rejected the only plan the democrats have proposed as well, a plan that would increase the debt limit without raising taxes.