From serving in the Air Force, to his time in both the House and Senate, and rising to become Senate Majority Leader during the 9-11 attacks…few have led more impactful political lives than Tom Daschle. In this conversation, he talks the unusual confluence of events that led to his involvement in politics, his mentor George McGovern, being taken under the wing of Speaker Tip O’Neill, his meteoric rise to become Senate Democratic leader…with stories, lessons, and insight from a 50+ career of service that continues to this day.
IN THIS EPISODE
The two candidates that inspired a young Tom Daschle’s interest in politics (one you might guess and the other you won’t)…
The progressive political tradition of South Dakota…
Senator Daschle talks about his “hero” and “mentor” George McGovern…
Senator Daschle talks about his own service in the military and why it made him a better member of Congress…
Memories of his time as a Senate staffer in the 70s during Watergate and the end of the Vietnam War…
The factor that led Congressman Daschle to have a special relationship with Speaker Tip O’Neill…
Winning three 50-50 races over the course of 8 years to win both a House and then a Senate seat…
The story behind the unique name of the Daschle campaign committee…
The story of how a first term Congressman Tom Daschle received a convention vote for Vice President in 1980…
The decision to make the jump from the House to the Senate…
The circuitous story behind Senator Daschle’s 1-vote margin to become Senate Democratic minority leader after the 1994 election…
The “up and down” relationship with President George W. Bush…
Inside the decision of Jim Jeffords to switch parties and give the Democrats a brief Senate Majority in the early 00s…
The legislative accomplishments of which Senator Daschle is most proud…
Memories of the votes when emotions ran high on the Senate floor…
How close did he get to running for President in 2004? (Very close)
What made his longtime Chief of Staff Pete Rouse such an effective staffer…
Senator Daschle talks his relationship with Barack Obama…
A window into his current work with The Daschle Group…
The Daschle pitch for us all to visit South Dakota…
AND 50-50 Senates, 66 counties, Jim Abdnor, Aberdeen, Jim Abourezk, agent orange, Madeline Albright, anthrax, the anti-war movement, the Badlands, Howard Baker, biofuels, the Bipartisan Policy Center, the Black Hills, Robert Byrd, CHIPs, Bill Clinton, the Cold War, Kent Conrad, Nathan Daschle, Chris Dodd, Bob Dole, Byron Dorgan, dugout press conferences, the Dust Bowl, early out programs, Food for Peace, the fragility of democracy, Bill Frist, Fritz Hollings, John Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Bob Kerrey, Trent Lott, George May, John McCain, Jim Messina, Bob Michel, the Missouri River, George Mitchell, the National Democratic Institute, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Omaha, Claude Pepper, populist traditions, regional whips, Franklin Roosevelt, Jim Sasser, the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, the Sioux River, Mo Udall, the Vietnam War, war heroes, Watergate…& more!