Difficulties surround lawmaker

His search for consensus has many in his party demanding more.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
WASHINGTON -- As he finishes his third year as Senate Republican leader and prepares to enter his final one, Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is finding himself outmaneuvered, scrutinized and unable to lift his party out of a political slump.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating his stock sales, the Democratic Senate leader has started playing political hardball and senators in his own party are marching to their own tune. With President Bush increasingly unpopular and former House GOP leader Tom DeLay under indictment, senators and party strategists would like Frist to give the party some sense of direction. He's struggling to do it.
All this while he contemplates making a bid for the presidency in 2008.
Frist, a 53-year-old heart surgeon, gets credit for being "a good face for the party," in the words of Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. But his generally nonconfrontational style and his search for consensus between moderates and conservatives have many in his party demanding more.
"On a few issues, his voice needs to be heard personally, even if he can't deliver the votes," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. "He needs to be personally engaged on issues, such as containing spending."
One senior Republican senator, who asked that his name not be used so he could speak candidly, said Frist needs to come up with a forward-looking agenda even as he manages difficult issues such as Iraq and hurricane relief.
"We need a positive theme and we don't have one," the senator said.