Bill Sammon of the Washington Times has a fascinating behind-the-scenes account of the mid-term elections in '02 headlined "Democrats played into GOP hands." The passage in the piece regarding Tom Daschle's maneuverings during the run-up to the Iraq war is most interesting:
The public was livid over Mr. McDermott's stunt, which recalled Jane Fonda's infamous visit to Hanoi. Then-House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt came under intense pressure to get his caucus under control.Sensing an opportunity, the White House quietly opened a direct line of negotiation with the Missouri Democrat over the congressional resolution authorizing war.
"It was a night-and-day difference between Gephardt — who was straightforward and 'I'm with you' — and Daschle, who was the nuanced, on-the-one-hand-this-on-the-other-hand-that guy," Mr. Rove said. "Daschle basically was saying very noncommittal things."
And so, Mr. Daschle became the only congressional leader not present at a bipartisan show of support for the president in the Rose Garden. His absence was glaringly obvious as Mr. Bush surrounded himself with Democrats and Republicans from both houses of Congress.
Nine days later, even Mr. Daschle came around to the president's way of thinking. He was among a minority of congressional Democrats who voted yes on the resolution authorizing the president to wage war against Iraq.
(Emphasis added.)
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