A former
Democratic Senator from
South Dakota.
Daschle's political career began in 1978 where he served South Dakota in the House of Representatives. In 1986, he became senator of the state. In 2004, he lost his seat.
The rest of this page contains my ruminations of the man circa mid-2001:
Some people think Daschle possesses a robotic quality. Truly, when Daschle is put in front of a microphone, and immediately he slips the Democratic agenda in a seven-second soundbyte. Fixing social security, publicly-funded health care, medical prescription coverage. BOOM. Seven seconds, and an unsuspecting TV viewer is subjected to the Democratic agenda. Daschle is not known for bad-mouthing fellow Democrats. I'm sure Daschle is a nice guy that means well, but unfortunately he seems to be on a quest for power.
If Daschle has presidential aspirations, he's on the right track. He speaks softly, he's a "humble" boy from the Midwest, he served in the military, he's married with three children, he's crime-free.... Most of all, he is a devoted Democratic liberal. This is good, because in the election of 2004, the Democratic party will have to become more liberal. The Green Party in the election of 2000 was even more left-wing than the democrats; the Democratic Party will have to seem even more liberal if they don't wish to recreate the disaster of the last election. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader is the reason for Gore's loss in 2000. Daschle would be a good choice for the Democratic nominee.
Whether or not Daschle attempts a run for the presidency, he will be a very visible man for a while.