Tom Daschle Quotes

Bipartisanship isn't an option anymore; it is a requirement. The American people have divided responsibility for leadership right down the middle.

If I could leave this body with one wish, it would be that we never give up that search for common ground, .. The politics of common ground will not be found on the far right, or on the far left. That is not where most Americans live. We will only find it on the firm middle ground, based on common sense and shared values.

[I am] saddened, saddened, that this president [Bush] failed so miserably at diplomacy that we're now forced to go to war. Saddened that we have to give up one life because this president couldn't create the kind of diplomatic effort that was so critical for our country.

President Bush failed "miserably" at diplomacy, forcing the United States into war.

Senators, like everyone else, want to feel a part of this decision-making process. They want to feel included.

As the representatives of the people we are here to declare that our resolve has not been weakened by these horrific and cowardly acts.

Diplomacy has been exhausted .. Continued instability in the Balkans threatens important U.S. national interests,.

I think we are isolating ourselves, and in so isolating ourselves, I think we're minimizing ourselves, I don't think we are taken as seriously today as we were a few years ago.

While endangering one of the most pristine areas in the world, drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would do nothing to make our country more energy independent.

There may not be much difference between Democrats and Republicans anymore.

When you're in the minority, it doesn't matter what you're agenda is, you're not going to have the degree of freedom that you have as a member of the majority.

President Bush has said that the economy is growing, that there are jobs out there. But you know, it's a long commute to China to get those jobs.

On issues relating to taxes, you don't always speak with one voice.

We will also never bring up the permanent tax cut the president is advocating.

If journalism is the first draft of history, then the Internet simply has provided a new means for delivering that draft far and wide very quickly.

Trust doesn't come haphazardly. It really has to be built over time. And that trust has to happen really at times when there isn't a crisis. That's why I think having regular meetings and conversation when there's no crisis, when you can build trust and a friendship and a relationship that allows for better dialogue and far more consequential deal-making can occur when a crisis does come up.

Literally minutes before the Senate cast its vote, the administration sought to add the words 'in the United States and' after 'appropriate force' in the agreed-upon text. This last-minute change would have given the president broad authority to exercise expansive powers not just overseas-where we all understood he wanted authority to act-but right here in the United States, potentially against American citizens. I could see no justification for Congress to accede to this extraordinary request for additional authority. I refused.

Iraq is not the only nation in the world to possess weapons of mass destruction, but it is the only nation with a leader who has used them against his own people.

America has lost an icon. Ronald Reagan's leadership will inspire Americans for generations to come. His patriotism and devotion to our country will never be forgotten.

People were concerned about national security, and that precluded us from having the opportunity to break through on the issues that we cared most about - the economy, education and health care.

This president failed so miserably in diplomacy that we are now forced to war.

Make no mistake, tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter.