After a week of negotiation, there came a day in April when the first major spending-cut bill of the G.O.P. Congress had reached a delicate final stage. That was when someone in the Senate cloakroom handed a slip of paper to Trent Lott of Mississippi, the second-ranking Senate Republican. On it was a column of figures -- the Democrats' final offer. Lott looked it over and paused. "I guess the only thing left to do is check this with the leader," he said. That would not be necessary. Poring over the numbers with him was a weary-looking blond woman in sensible...
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