Well, you can only go so long saying, “We've got the minister on board, no matter what party he is, and he's going to carry the ball for us, but we understand he's going to be undermined by people who don't agree that this is in our best interest”. If someone is at odds, we want to get that resolved before we send our quarterbacks into the fray.
On May 11th, 2006. See this statement in context.