Dr. Frist's Prescription | The New Republic

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by Jonathan Cohn

But, like so many politicians, Frist was a complicated figure who also had what seemed (at least to me) like a genuine interest in public service--an interest that occasionally led him to stand up for what he thought was right.

Perhaps because he's out of politics again, that streak has shown itself again, in an interview about health care reform with Karen Tumulty.

Frist tells Karen Tumulty that he has serious objections to the measures moving through Congress, the sort of objections you'd expect a conservative to make. But given a chance to vote on something like the bill moving through the Senate Finance Committee, Frist says,

I would end up voting for it. ... As leader, I would take heat for it. ... That's what leadership is all about.
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