Bill Press is a syndicated columnist, the co-host of CNN's Crossfire, which airs Monday-Friday at 7:30 p.m., and author of the newly-published book Spin This!

Bill Press: Republicans aim to smear Tom Daschle

By Bill Press, Tribune Media Services

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Even in American politics, it's a new low. A full-page ad in South Dakota newspapers shows the face of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein with the caption: "Why is America buying 725,000 barrels of oil a day from this man?"

Alongside that photo appears the face of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and the message: "Because this man won't let America drill for oil at home."

The politics of personal destruction are back. If you believe the ad, Tom Daschle is in bed with Saddam Hussein. But it's only one of many Scud missiles launched against Daschle by Republican party officials in the last few weeks.

Befuddled by Daschle, Republicans have come to the same conclusion they once reached about Bill Clinton. Unable to attack his policies because they're so popular, they've decided to attack him personally.

Leading the charge is California Republican Bill Thomas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who generates more hot air than any other politician in Washington.

Thomas has compared Daschle to "a third grader taking a math test, who can't wait for recess." He called him empty-headed, telling reporters it was easier to get inside Dick Gephardt's head than Tom Daschle's because "you'd bump into things up there."

And on Nov. 15 he wrote a letter to Daschle telling him: "For the sake of the United States, I implore you to lead the Senate, or step aside."

Even White House officials, spurred on by President Bush, have joined the war on Daschle. Economic guru Lawrence Lindsay accused Daschle of abdicating his "responsibility." Senior counselor Karen Hughes said he has created a "leadership void" in the Senate. And Vice President Dick Cheney called him an "obstructionist."

Behind the personal attacks, Republicans accuse Daschle of obstructing passage of legislation and blocking confirmation of key White House appointees. On both issues, they are dead wrong.

It was Daschle who handed Bush a "use of force" resolution immediately after Sept. 11 and steered passage of the emergency $40 billion bailout bill, as well as a $15 billion handout for the airline industry. Daschle also produced an Aviation Security package and a victims' compensation bill -- and then delivered a 99-1 victory for Bush's anti-terrorism legislation.

If the Senate has not yet passed an economic stimulus bill, it's because there's a big difference between the two parties.

Daschle and Democrats want legislation benefiting workers who lost their jobs as a result of Sept. 11; Bush and Republicans are insisting on still more tax cuts for wealthy Americans. That's a legitimate difference. That's a difference worth fighting for. Just because Daschle is putting up a fight and not rolling over for the president doesn't make him a demon.

On appointments, Daschle has also delivered -- a lot more than Republicans did. During the first six months of 2001, when Republicans controlled the Senate, not one single Bush-nominated judicial candidate was confirmed. Since taking over the Senate, Democrats have confirmed 27.

In fact, there are only two Bush appointments Senate Democrats have held up, and both for good reasons. Eugene Scalia, nominee for solicitor general of the Labor Department, is an outspoken foe of labor unions. Otto Reich, slated to head Latin American affairs at the State Department, has a shady record with the Nicaraguan contras. Neither deserves confirmation. But both, under Tom Daschle, will eventually get a vote on the Senate floor -- which is more than Republicans, under Trent Lott, did for Bill Clinton's nominees.

In the end, that's what's most disturbing about Republican efforts to demonize Tom Daschle: their sheer hypocrisy. They accuse him of blocking legislation President Bush supports, even though Republicans never hesitated to scuttle President Clinton's legislative agenda, such as the Patients' Bill of Rights.

They attack him for not rubber-stamping every Bush nominee, yet when Republicans controlled the Senate, they did not even allow senators to vote on Clinton's choices of William Weld as ambassador to Mexico, James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg or Bill Lann Lee as assistant attorney general for civil rights.

In the end, Republican attacks on Tom Daschle will fail for one good reason. Of all 100 senators, Daschle is not only the most effective, he's also the most approachable, the most reasonable and the most likable of the whole bunch. Republicans have ganged up on the wrong guy. No matter how hard they try, they'll never make an ogre out of Tom Daschle.