ABSTRACT
This chapter details the experiences of a citizen-legislator who rose to become majority leader, then kept a self-imposed two-term limit and returned to his previous profession. It chronicles the unique way in which Frist ascended to the leadership in the aftermath of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott’s fall from grace. The Frist who emerges experienced considerable success in securing passage of health care measures usually associated with Democrats, like the Bush administration’s expansion of HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs in Africa and the prescription drug benefits for Medicare users. One with the mind-set of a doctor rather than that of an ideologue or a career politician, he achieved fewer victories on matters where partisan sentiments were more likely to collide. In many respects, the rise and decline of Bill Frist’s four-year stint as leader mirror the rise and decline of the political fortunes of George W. Bush as president.
