WASHINGTON -- At a time when Congress agrees on almost nothing and every issue is ultra-politicized, Jim Talent has the luxury of talking about the importance of people working together.
Since losing his Senate seate to Claire McCaskill in 2006, Talent, a St. Louis County Republican, has spent a good deal of time delving into national security issues on a high-profile, bipartisan commission examining the threat of bioterrorism and other weapons of mass destruction.
Now he's on a panel working largely behind the scenes to examine many facets of defense policy, from thorny matters like weapons procurement to mega-issues like the role of the United States in global affairs.
"Who is the United States in the world? What is it we're trying to do, and why?" Talent said in an interview this morning while in Washington for meetings.
In July, his national defense panel will issue a report to the Pentagon, and Talent said he believes that its members -- from different backgrounds and opposing political parties -- will be able to reach agreement on such weighty matters.
That would be a far cry from the political discourse in the land these days -- an atmosphere likely to be around next year if Talent decides to challenge McCaskill for his old seat. Will he do it?
"I do have to make a decision early next cycle if I'm going to run," he said.
"Politics becomes so volatile that you almost can't make those decisions too early because so many things can change. But I'm not worrying a lot about it. I'm busy ... I do want to stay involved or, if anything, step up my involvement in public affairs. It could take that form (running for office), it could take many forms," he said.
"I do believe that whether it's with national security or other issues, now is not the time to be withdrawing from public affairs," he added.
One reason for an early announcement is the imperative of raising a lot of money quickly. Talent departed electoral politics having exhausted his campaign funds.
"I was lucky to get out of that without a debt," he remarked.
Talent said he believes that Republicans might not escape the mid-term elections unscathed given the ornery mood in the electorate. "I don't think it is inherently a partisan thing. I think it's directed at the people they identify as in power ... You don't know whether there might be some impact on Republican incumbents. But I would be surprised to see that on any broad scale," he said.
