You are absolutely right.
It would not be amiss to look closely at the President's effectiveness in promoting his own nominees and balance the inherent powers of his office against the collegial powers of the majority leader. I think the comparison would work to Frist's advantage.
It seems to me that Frist can only be faulted if he had the power to invoke the nuclear option and unaccountably shrank from pulling the trigger. I think it quite clear that he never had the 51 votes when one subtracts these 7 mavericks from his 55 count majority.
Conceivably, one might argue that Frist failed because he did not wield power like Lyndon Johnson did as Majority Leader a half a century ago. But this misconceives the power structure of the modern Senate. Frist simply does not have much leverage over these 7. Indeed, they fear The New York Times much more than they fear any majority leader, and with good reason.
I see this as a leadership failure at the top, where real power lies, in the president who is the head of the party, has a measure of control over money, can use the bully pulpit (Bush did not apart from the election campaigns) and can log roll. I believe Bush dropped the ball and left Frist with no dry powder.
I agree. Bush could have rendered alot more support to Frist than he did.
Rove dropped the ball on this one -- big time.
Time for the GOP to take off the gloves and fight these miscreants on the other side with bare knuckles.
After all, Reid and Company will fold like a stacked house of cards when the screws are really in place and tightened.
I see this as a leadership failure at the top, where real power lies, in the president who is the head of the party, has a measure of control over money, can use the bully pulpit (Bush did not apart from the election campaigns) and can log roll. I believe Bush dropped the ball and left Frist with no dry powder. I don't think that's accurate. Bush led his party to historical Congressional gains in 2002 and 2004. If not for his leadership would the Senate be configured as it is today? If not for Daschle's miscalculation of the judicial issue and the national map Bush put it on, would he still be the Democrat's leader?
In my mind there is too much measuring and score keeping during what's sure to be a long war. What matters is where we stand at the end, not the outcome of every battle. While I think it's true that the Republicans lose the media spin contest on almost a daily basis. But the Dems are addicted to the loud sound of their own bark, however toothless...and the Republicans keep making them pay.