The NY Times has a piece for Sunday's paper documenting the woes of Dr. Frist. Seems this Majority Leader gig has been hard work for him, and he hasn't really been doing all that well at it:
With lawmakers returning from the Memorial Day recess, the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, faces a crucial test of whether he can re-establish his authority after a rapid sequence of events that many say diminished his standing and exposed a lack of experience in Congressional intrigue.The doctor is defended by one of his puppet masters, Paul Weyrich who admitted Frist has been "weakened":
Adversaries, independent analysts and even some allies say the Senate leader was wounded by a compromise on judicial nominees achieved last month by a handful of Republicans who bucked him, including Senator John McCain, a potential presidential rival in 2008. The damage to his image was made worse, they say, when Democrats blocked another important White House nominee just a few days after the judicial agreement.
But while Mr. McCain was seen as a winner in some circles, Dr. Frist appeared to maintain his standing among conservatives, who commended him for his efforts to win votes on the judges while castigating Mr. McCain and the others who signed the compromise for undermining the majority leader.Dr. Bill vows to fight back and be redeemed. Unlikely. He's been exposed as an empty suit. The Senate sharks are circling....
"I've heard literally no one say, 'Well, if we had somebody else as leader, this would have been done better,' " Mr. Weyrich said. "No one."
