No, it's because I can draw my own opinions about things without having to parrot what somebody else says.
Even so, Frist seemed unsure of the full extent of his clout. As he rode the elevator on his way to the majority leader's office in the Capitol, he bumped into Baker, who promptly gave him a tour of the leader's suite, which Baker occupied from 1976 to 1984.
Pointing to paintings of prominent Republicans hung in the office by Lott, Frist asked Baker if he could change them.
"It hasn't sunk in on you yet," Baker said. "You can do anything, while you're up here."
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But minutes later, he got an early lesson on legislating from Democrats when he tried getting agreement for quick passage of a 13-week extension of benefits for long-term jobless workers. A similar measure stalled in Congress just before it adjourned in November.
Frist said Democrats, who favor more generous benefits, had informally agreed Monday evening to let the measure pass. It eventually did after nearly two hours, but only after initial Democratic objections threatened to derail the GOP drive to rapidly pass the bill and move to other issues like President Bush (news - web sites)'s plans for new tax cuts.
"I guess this is what I can come to expect," a clearly frustrated Frist said to his colleagues when it looked like Democrats might delay the measure.
As the delays continued, Frist returned to his office and said in an interview that he believed Democrats would eventually realize they could not block the new benefits.
"I'm not going to leave them in charge," he said. "I sat there and listened to them for 45 minutes, but I'm not going to sit there for three hours."
Eventually, Democrats relented and the Senate passed the measure by voice vote.
"This should send a signal we're all about action, we're about accomplishment," he said afterward, claiming the first of what he hopes will be many GOP victories on his watch.