Yet Frist was dogged by criticism during his tenure as the Senate’s No. 1 man that he was focused more on his own White House ambitions than those of his party when determining what issues would rank at the top of the legislative agenda. Among other things, he was accused of putting forward legislation to curry favor with the conservative right even if they had no chance of passing the full Congress–including bills that would amend the Constitution to ban same sex marriage and flag-burning. Last year, Frist was roundly criticized–even by members of his own party–for prodding Congress to intervene in the Terri Schiavo debate.(A heart surgeon, Frist declared that Schiavo appeared “clearly responsive” after viewing her on a videotape.)
The Tennessee senator faced an uphill battle at best in his road to the White House. Polls showed few Americans knew who Frist was–and those who did didn’t like him very much. Earlier this week, a Quinnipiac University poll found that Frist ranked No. 18 on a list of 20 lawmakers the public views “warmly”–outranking only Harry Reid and John Kerry. But another real issue, according to insiders: money. While Frist was regarded as an able fundraiser, he faced serious competition from the increasingly crowded GOP field, including John McCain, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani–all of whom have been locking up members of President’s Bush’s hugely-successful fundraising team. “People give money to candidates who can win,” says one GOP consultant. “Frist just didn’t look like the winner.”
