Love is such a fleeting emotion.
It wasn’t too long ago that President Bush and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle couldn’t get enough of each other.
It all started off innocently enough.
Bush and Daschle started working late together to prepare plans for the war on terrorism, homeland security and the response to the anthrax scare.
But as the days and nights passed by and the workload increased, this special relationship soon blossomed into something more.
They were like lovebirds. They embraced constantly in public. They spent so much time together that their friends in Congress started to get jealous.
Whether it was stolen glances during a State of the Union address or promises of bipartisan cooperation, it was obvious that love had blossomed between two of America’s finest statesmen.
They, along with Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, House Majority Leader Dennis Hastert and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, started a weekly bipartisan breakfast together. The rumors Bush and Daschle would romantically hand feed each other have yet to be confirmed.
Public officials were outraged. A Republican and a Democrat should never let their emotions get the best of them, they argued. Staying united after the Sept. 11 attacks is one thing, but partisanship must eventually reign. Politics have to come before love. Washington, D.C. is a hard town, but that’s the way it is.
But Bush and Daschle were undeterred. Their love was strong. They publicly praised each other’s leadership during times of crisis. When Daschle was exposed to anthrax, it was Bush who was at his bed side, bringing him chocolates and flowers.
However, in Washington, politics triumph above all things, even love.
2002 is an election year, after all. Democrats have a chance to win the House and have full control of Congress.
And slowly, Bush and Daschle drifted apart. Their breakfasts, once full of witty banter, were now silent. The two could only stare coldly into one another’s eyes as the pressure from their friends to end the relationship broke both men down.
Before the holidays, the two men tried to come to an agreement over an economic stimulus package, but just couldn’t come to a compromise. They both knew it was the beginning of the end of their love, but it was just a matter of when.
The Bush-Daschle love affair officially ended Friday when Daschle blamed Bush’s tax cuts, passed earlier this year, for wiping out budget surpluses.
This speech begins an election-year strategy by Democrats to attack the popular president’s economic policies while avoiding criticizing his war on terrorism. Dems figure attacking the GOP as fiscally irresponsible is the way to go, especially because these tax decreases weren’t very popular to begin with.
It’s hard to imagine a world where love between Democrats and Republicans can exist.
But for a brief, fleeting moment – we had it.
Jason Mann is the editor of The Lantern. He believes President Bush and Senator Daschle are both very handsome men. E-mail him at [email protected].
