make this poid more productive, more deliberative. more responsive to america's needs and a place of genuine debate about our country's pressing issues. and while this week's hairy discussions about senate rules are a poor substitute for what i believe could have and should have been a thoughtful public debate at any time over the past year. such a discussion is still a working goal. but a discussion of rules falls short of what is required. american politics are cyclical. and the granting of power in washington, d.c. is exchanged regularly by the voters from one party to another. the shift of power back and forth means the senate's 60-vote threshold has proved maddening to members of both political parties in recent years. viewed either as a weapon of obstruction or a safety net to