Update - Week of September 25th

[LearnedfromTV]

A few political capital questions for the insiders re Frist and the lame duck period/next year:

- If Republicans maintain control on the Senate, is Frist certain/likely/unlikely to be majority leader in the next Senate? (is this revisited in each congress, does the rift in the party mean he may be replaced, etc.?)

- how would Frist's likely status in the next Senate (whether b/c the Dems win control or b/c he may lose leadership, whatever) affect his ability to get what he wants in the lame duck session? How lame a duck might he be?

- Who are the other most powerful Republican Senators? If Frist has lost status in the party, who in the party benefits? (wrt the lame duck period, which senators might be pulling strings Frist can't pull as well any more? If he were to be replaced next year, by whom?)