Daschle: Timing Entwined War Vote, Election

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"Daschle, who as Senate majority leader controlled the chamber's schedule, recalled recently that he asked Bush to delay the war vote on Iraq until after the impending midterm election. Daschle's account highlights a crucial factor that has drawn little attention amid rising controversy over the congressional vote that authorized the war in Iraq: the debate may have been shaped as much by when Congress voted as by what it knew."

PHOTO: BEFORE THE VOTE: President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, left, meet with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), obscured, and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), right, on Sept. 18, 2002. Congress authorized war about three weeks later. (Doug Mills/AP)