Thomas Daschle: “I agree completely with what the Senator just said. In a democracy, it is supposed to be of and by the people. But how…”

“I agree completely with what the Senator just said. In a democracy, it is supposed to be of and by the people. But how can it be of and by the people when you need the millions of dollars it now takes to be a legitimate candidate anywhere in the country? How can you say to people from working families, ``Look, we want you to be engaged, and not only vote and participate, but we would like you to help lead,'' if all we can do in response to their question about what it is going to cost is to admit that it costs millions of dollars that he or she doesn't have? How is it of and by the people when it becomes even more problematic with each cycle of escalating costs, already $37 million more this cycle than last cycle? That isn't democracy. That isn't what the Founding Fathers and what Henry Clay thought about when he thought about this system and what they were going to do to protect it.”