[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[Senate]
[Pages 25197-25198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             FORGING UNITY

  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, a lot is being said about whether Ken 
Burns included enough Latinos in his new television series on World War 
II. This is one more reminder that ``pluribus'' comes easy, but 
``unum'' is hard.
  It would be a lot easier if ``e pluribus unum,'' the national motto 
displayed above the Presiding Officer's desk in the Chamber, were 
reversed and became ``many from one'' instead of ``one from many.''
  Ken Burns's epic series on ``The War'' began last night on public 
television. It promises to stick in our collective memory as only a few 
television events have--for example, the Roots series, Burns' own Civil 
War series, and Super Bowls.
  In fact, our country is so splintered these days and so enthralled 
with our diversity that not very much becomes collective memory, as 
did, for example, McGuffey's Reader in the 19th century, or the three 
network newscasts in the mid-20th century.
  This diminution of our common core of beliefs and experiences is 
America's fundamental challenge because forging unity from our 
magnificent diversity is America's greatest achievement and has created 
our capacity for other achievements.
  At the Library of Congress some weeks ago, reflecting on his 6 years 
of work on this television series, Ken Burns said Americans were more 
united during World War II and its aftermath than at any other time. It 
was no coincidence that during this era the ``greatest generation'' 
also accomplished the most: Welcoming new citizens based upon beliefs 
instead of race, building overwhelming military power and the best 
universities, and producing nearly one-third of the world's wealth for 
5 percent of the world's people.
  Quoting the late Arthur Schlesinger's book, ``The Disuniting of 
America,'' Ken Burns said America today could use ``a little less 
pluribus and a little more unum.''
  Following World War II, liberals such as Schlesinger, Albert Shanker, 
and Hubert Humphrey were vigorous apostles of America's common purpose. 
Their Fourth of July speeches were as effusive as anybody's.
  But today, the left disdains, and the right seems to have forgotten 
the importance of unum, which means we are abandoning our greatest 
achievement.
  We see this in our work in the Senate. There is no constituency for 
consensus, only for division, and many of those who work hardest for 
consensus are retiring or near the end of their careers here.
  A good example is the debate on Iraq, a war that, unlike World War 
II, divides us instead of unites us. The President is conducting the 
war the way he wants to conduct the war, not recognizing that 
persuading at least half the people he is right is the only way he can 
sustain a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq.
  The Democratic majority, on the other hand, is working hard for a 
perceived political advantage, not recognizing that most voters would 
prefer we work together when Americans are fighting and dying.
  Both sides deserve an ``incomplete'' on their report cards.
  A unified country would speak with one voice on where we go from here 
in Iraq because our troops deserve to hear it; because the enemy needs 
to hear it; because one political party does not go to war, our country 
does; and, finally, because the Senate looks downright ridiculous 
lecturing Baghdad about being in a political stalemate when we cannot 
get out of one ourselves.
  We still have an opportunity to speak with one voice on Iraq. 
Seventy-eight of us in the House of Representatives and the Senate--35 
Democrats and 43 Republicans--have cosponsored legislation making the 
bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommendations the policy of our 
Government. It is a consensus most Members, I believe, agree with. It 
is sitting there staring us in the face, waiting for us to adopt it and 
the President to sign it.
  At West Point a few weeks ago, 30 cadets told Ken Burns, after they 
had seen some of his World War II series, that they had watched his 
Civil War series with their parents and had decided then to attend West 
Point. We can only hope that Burns' new series can have as much impact 
and remind us of that time--World War II and its aftermath--when 
Americans pulled together, and remind us that today we could use a 
little less pluribus and a little more unum.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record 
the names of the 78 cosponsors of the Iraq Study Group recommendations, 
on S. 1545 in the Senate and H.R. 2574 in the House. In the Senate, 
there are nine Democrats and eight Republicans among the cosponsors.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

        The Iraq Study Group Recommendations Implementation Act


                         Cosponsors of S. 1545

       Democrats: Ken Salazar (D-CO), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Robert 
     Casey (D-PA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Bill Nelson (D-FL), 
     Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Kent Conrad 
     (D-ND), and Tom Carper (D-DE).
       Republicans: Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Bob Bennett (R-UT), 
     Judd Gregg (R-NH), John Sununu (R-NH), Susan Collins (R-ME), 
     Pete Domenici (R-NM), Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Norm Coleman 
     (R-MN).


                        Cosponsors of H.R. 2574

       Democrats: Mark Udall (D-CO), Jason Altmire (D-PA), Leonard 
     Boswell (D-IA), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Nancy Boyda (D-KS), 
     Robert Brady (D-PA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Danny Davis (D-
     IL), Lincoln Davis (D-TN), John Dingell (D-MI), Charles 
     Gonzalez (D-TX), Jane Harman (D-CA), Baron Hill (D-IN), Steve 
     Israel (D-NY), Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), Tim Mahoney (D-FL), 
     Jim Matheson (D-UT), Dennis Moore (D-KS), James Moran (D-

[[Page 25198]]

     VA), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Collin Peterson (D-MN), Mike Ross 
     (D-AR), Bobby Rush (D-IL), John Salazar (D-CO), Heath Shuler 
     (D-NC), and David Wu (D-OR).
       Republicans: Frank Wolf (R-VA), Mary Bono (R-CA), Michael 
     Castle (R-DE), John Abney Culberson (R-TX), Tom Davis (R-VA), 
     Charles Dent (R-PA), David Dreier (R-CA), Vernon Ehlers (R-
     MI), Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO), Phil English (R-PA), Jeff 
     Fortenberry (R-NE), Luis Fortuno (R-PR), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), 
     Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), Dean Heller (R-NV), David Hobson (R-
     OH), Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), Walter Jones (R-NC), Jack 
     Kingston (R-GA), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Randy Kuhl (R-NY), Michael 
     McCaul (R-TX), Sue Wilkins Myrick (R-NC), Jim Ramstad (R-MN), 
     Ralph Regula (R-OH), David Reichert (R-WA), Christopher Shays 
     (R-CT), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Patrick Tiberi (R-OH), Fred 
     Upton (R-MI), James Walsh (R-NY), Zach Wamp (R-TN), Ed 
     Whitfield (R-KY), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Don Young (R-AK).

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from California is 
recognized.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, could the Chair tell me what the order is 
this morning.

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