AAN

Excerpt:

Democrat Stephanie Herseth of South Dakota, elected to a full U.S. House term from a decidedly red state one year ago, says she learned a valuable lesson from former Senate Leader Tom Daschle: Make friends on both sides of the aisle.

Daschle, the South Dakotan who was the Democrats' top man in the Senate for a decade, lost his bid for a fourth term in that same election. But not before he had become one of the most powerful men in Congress.

If Herseth has similar ambitions, she won't say. But the 34-year-old has spent her first year in the House getting to know powerful people - many of them Republicans - who in turn could help her become a major Washington player.

"If you are a freshman and you are in the minority party, you are smart to do that because it's hard to get a lot of leverage," said Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Neb., who agreed to help Herseth secure money for a new bridge over the Missouri River at Yankton. "I know she has reached out to Republicans, and in many cases Republicans have helped her."