Janklow buys ads to praise Daschle

By Joe Kafka, Associated Press Writer | Friday, March 11, 2005

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PIERRE — Former U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle, a Democrat, was a good man who was devoted to public service and did many important things for his home state of South Dakota, a once-prominent Republican supporter said in a lengthy newspaper ad.

Bill Janklow — a former state attorney general, four-term governor and freshman member of Congress who resigned from that post after being convicted for causing a traffic death — has put the ad in papers across the state.

Janklow, a strong governor with a reputation for many achievements in South Dakota, praises Daschle in the same vein.

"If we remember Tom Daschle the public servant for just one thing, it should be his ability to get things done for our state," Janklow wrote. "In a calling increasingly characterized by self-congratulatory press releases and photo opportunities, he cared only for results."

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., defeated Daschle in November. Daschle served four terms in the U.S. House and followed that with three terms in the U.S. Senate, where he became minority leader.

Janklow and Daschle, although political opposites, have long been friends. Daschle says he is flattered Janklow paid tribute to him in the ads.

"I'm very grateful for his kind words ," Daschle said in a telephone interview, adding that Janklow did not tell him ahead of time about the ads.

Janklow, who refused to comment Wednesday, used the newspaper ads to laud Daschle for helping South Dakota in many ways.

"A portion of Tom Daschle's legacy lies in what we can easily see: successful rural water projects, modern highways, safe bridges, massive ethanol plants, meaningful drought relief, timely flood repairs, crucial health care, and futuristic research and economic development centers," the Republican politician wrote.

"Nobody worked harder for us and got more done for us than Tom Daschle," Janklow said.

Bill Richardson, political science head at University of South Dakota, said he was not surprised to see the newspaper ads because Janklow and Daschle have long been allies.

"Here are two really powerful individuals in their heyday who genuinely liked each other and recognized that they would have to oppose each other at times but also worked extremely well together for the good of South Dakota," Richardson said. "They admired each other and found common ground despite their ideological differences.

"That relationship is even more unusual by the current political climate, where there's such a divide between the two parties," he says.

Despite often-long odds, both men used tact and guile to accomplish many good things for the state, Richardson said.

"They knew where the levers of power resided, and they knew how to push them and how far to push those levers," he said. "They had a mutual admiration for that ability to actually deliver."

Janklow was first elected governor in 1978, the same year Daschle won his first term in Congress. Daschle, 57, who said he has not been able to reach Janklow and thank him for the ads, agreed that many people looked at his ties to Janklow as an odd political partnership.

Janklow also should be praised for his service to the state, Daschle said. Janklow successfully pushed for reorganization of the state university system, brought credit card giant Citibank and many other businesses to South Dakota and managed to get every school in the state wired for the Internet, the former senator said.

"He is a very gutsy and loyal person," Daschle said. "He has been loyal in his friendship to me, and he's been very courageous in his willingness to demonstrate that friendship when there was no political gain whatsoever in doing so."

Janklow, 65, was convicted in 2003 of second-degree manslaughter and three lesser charges for speeding through a stop sign and colliding with a motorcycle driven by Randy Scott of Hardwick, Minn. Scott was killed instantly.

Janklow spent 100 days in jail and was forbidden from driving for three years. His convictions recently were upheld by the state Supreme Court.