09/21/2007
OXFORD, Miss. — Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said
Friday that the U.S. Senate missed a key
opportunity two weeks ago to begin working on a
compromise regarding the war in Iraq.
On the University of Mississippi campus with former
Sen. Tom Daschle, (D-S.D.), Lott said the Senate
should have begun working in a bipartisan fashion
following the status report from U. S. Army Gen.
David Petraeus, commander of the Multi-National
Force in Iraq.
“We missed an opportunity to come together in the
last couple of weeks,” Lott said. “We can’t
micromanage the war in Iraq, but we could have come
together to begin to lay out a plan, to set some
benchmarks, for withdrawal. It would be worth the
effort to at least talk about it, and over time
reach an agreement.”
Lott and Daschle were on the UM campus for a public
coffee-table discussion titled “A Conversation with
Leaders.” Sponsored by the university’s Trent Lott
Leadership Institute, the event allowed the two
senators to share with students and the community
how congressional leaders can work in a bipartisan
fashion.
“It’s critical that leaders keep trying to find
common ground,” Daschle said, regarding the Iraq
war debate. “There are 535 congressional leaders
representing some 300 million Americans, so we need
civility. You can’t keep throwing rocks at each
other.”
To work in a bipartisan manner on any matter that
comes before Congress, Lott said liberals and
conservatives must find a moderate common ground.
With the Senate evenly divided between Republicans
and Democrats, it still takes 60 votes to pass
legislation, he said.
“Republicans can’t keep trying to find 10 moderate
liberals to join their side of the debate, and
Democrats can’t try to move 10 moderate
conservatives to their argument. The key is finding
30 Republicans and 30 Democrats in the center to
agree on any resolution.”
From 1996 to 2002, Sen. Lott and Daschle served
together either as Senate majority or minority
leaders. Daschle is the first Democrat invited to
speak as part of the Lott Leadership Lecture Series
at UM.
Both agreed that leaders from different regions of
the country with diverse philosophical beliefs can
work together as long as there is trust, open
communication, respect, consideration and courage.
Lott and Daschle also discussed how they worked
together to overcome their greatest obstacle, the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“Both parties were resistant, but we knew we had to
come together for America,” Lott said. “It was a
trying time for all of us.”
Daschle agreed, saying, “I’ll never forget,
Democrats and Republicans holding hands together,
and singing ‘God Bless America.’ We started working
together that moment.”
Curtis Wilkie, former national and foreign
correspondent for The Boston Globe and holder of
UM’s Kelly G. Cook Chair of Journalism, said the
discussion was beneficial, especially for students
who attended.
“This conversation demonstrates that reasonable men
with different views can work together to get
things accomplished,” Wilkie said.
Lott and Daschle met before the forum with students
majoring in public policy leadership or journalism.
Afterwards, the Overby Center for Southern
Journalism and Politics hosted a reception for the
senators.