Thanks to the Main Street Journal connection, I was able to sneak into the media coffee with Dr. Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist (who isn’t intereseted in the results of tomorrow’s straw poll) this morning.

Frist took the opportunity to welcome members of the media and offer a preview of the conference and his version of the weekend’s agenda. Also in the room were actual members of the news media, including our own Jonathan Lindberg; Chris Davis and Jackson Baker from the Memphis Flyer; someone from the Tennessean; and several local TV newsers.

I hear that if I play my cards right I may get a chance to meet him again later today at bloggers row, where I’m now perched with Alphapatriot and Rob Huddleston. Actually, it feels more like we’re being hidden in the basement.

Funny thing about that meeting with Frist, though. I wasn’t IDed at check-in, wasn’t IDed at the media check-in, where I got my blogging credentials, wasn’t checked before the meeting with Frist, and my bags were never searched until I made my way down here, where the only people I could potentiallly harm are local radio host Mike Fleming, some t-shirt vendors and Crystal Dueker from Americans for Dr. Rice.

Sen. Frist, who isn’t interested in the results of tomorrow’s straw poll, was well-spoken and addressed a wide range of topics, taking questions from anyone who had one.

He artfully dodged questions about his potential presidential campaign and about the specifics of his meeting with the President and Vice President over the Dubai ports deal rejected by Congress. He was also asked about the election of Hamas and spoke at length about health care and health savings accounts.

I asked Frist what he thought was his greatest accomplishment during his two terms in the Senate.

Frist said he was most proud of his success in getting President Bush’s judicial nominees passed through Congress.

[Time to move on to the next Frist encounter. Media links will be listed here later].