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Go Home House Broker

POLITICS JUNE 11, 2008

House Broker

BY MICHELLE COTTLE

Nancy Pelosi believes in being direct. With the Democratic presidential contest running hot, in March a reporter with Boston TV station NECN asked the House speaker about the possibility of a dream ticket uniting Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Doe eyes wide, the nation's highest-ranking Democrat flashed her trademark smile ominously.

"I think that the Clinton administration [sic] has fairly ruled that out by proclaiming that Senator McCain would be a better [long pause, dismayed half- laugh] commander-in-chief than Obama. I think that ticket--either way--is impossible."

Pelosi turned to walk off, then retraced her steps and added, with another half-laugh, "I didn't want to leave you with any ambiguity."

Nope. No ambiguity here, say supporters of Team Hillary. As party elder and chairman of the upcoming Democratic convention, Pelosi maintains that she will not pick favorites in the nominating contest. But, as many of Hillary's people see it, Pelosi's repeated rejection of a "unity ticket" is just further proof that, official neutrality notwithstanding, the speaker wants Barack Obama to be the nominee--and will use her influence to make sure there is no place for Hillary on his ticket. Pelosi is "anything but uncommitted," insists one Hillary adviser, echoing colleagues.

Some Hillary folks believe that Pelosi assumes Obama would provide better coattails for down-ballot candidates to ride. Others think Hillary is considered too centrist to win Pelosi's love. Still others suspect the speaker has calculated that she'd have more influence under President Obama than President Clinton--partly because Obama has more limited Washington experience than Hillary and partly because, as the Hillary adviser snarks, under Clinton, Pelosi would lose the advantages that attend being "the most senior skirt in the land."

Pelosi's perceived offenses toward Hillary '08 range from her public call for superdelegates to respect the will of regular voters (a boon to Obama, with his pledged-delegate lead) to her choice of Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to respond to Bush's State of the Union speech; the morning after her response, Sebelius endorsed Obama--something Hillary backers are convinced wouldn't have happened without the speaker's tacit blessing. With each new slight, Team Hillary aides grumble to Pelosi aides, while outside Hillary supporters-- especially women and California voters--call the speaker's office to grouse. But, as the race grinds on, Pelosi continues to offend. Most recently, even as she assured The Wall Street Journal that she saw "plenty of freshness" in both candidates, the speaker couldn't help but add: "Some might say he's advocating what I've been advocating for a long time."

Under the circumstances, it's no surprise that some Hillary loyalists have grown bitter toward Pelosi. In April, nearly two dozen big-league Hillary donors, reacting to Pelosi's warning about superdelegates, fired off an open letter to the speaker, cautioning that, if she failed to "clarify" her position, they would have to reconsider their long-standing support of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. It was the desperate act of a desperate people. It was also, to Hillary's detriment, a stunningly ham-fisted move guaranteed to feed whatever bias Pelosi already had. Publicly, Pelosi dismissed the letter as "unimportant," even as her office made clear that she was brassed off about it. "It was," a Pelosi aide stressed to me of the effort, "a mistake on their part."

Don't let the perky-grandmother-in-pearls schtick deceive: Nancy Pelosi is not a woman who responds well to threats or disrespect in any form. For years, she has struggled to be taken seriously--dismissed, variously, as a rich dilettante, a lefty crusader, and a smiley, wide-eyed dingbat. Chronic underestimation, say those close to her, has chafed but has also helped Pelosi fuel her rise with a blend of political cunning, hard work, and raw will. The seventh child and only daughter of a Baltimore machine politician, she was weaned on a vote-counting, constituent-tending, brutally pragmatic brand of politics, the fundamentals of which still guide her. As do early lessons about how to survive as an ambitious woman in a man's world. And, despite her revolutionary, smash-the-china image, Pelosi is a savvy institutionalist who amassed power in part because of her intimate understanding of the House's rules, quirks, and mores.

Now, having smiled, sweated, and strategized her way to the top, the speaker is savoring her burgeoning reputation as a power broker and all-around political badass. While she may not be the person who killed the Bush presidency (that honor goes to the president himself), Pelosi has of late emerged as the chief figure propelling his slide into political oblivion-- blocking his bills, stiff-arming his congressional compatriots, and reminding everyone of how lame the duck has become. In much the same fashion, her status as party eminence has been burnished, particularly on the left, by her tie-ups and stare-downs with Team Hillary. Thwarting the will of both an opposition president and the most fearsome political machine in her own party, Pelosi is now being touted as one of the most powerful speakers in modern history. It is a particularly sweet victory for a woman who has spent her political career striving to prove she can hold her own with the big boys.

 

If there's one thing "Little Nancy" D'Alesandro learned early, it was the importance of math. Born March 26, 1940, she was the youngest child of Thomas "Big Tommy" D'Alesandro Jr., an insurance salesman turned politician who was teaching his tots how to count votes while their peers were still immersed in the exploits of Dick and Jane. A lifelong denizen of Baltimore's Little Italy, Big Tommy was elected to Maryland's House of Delegates at 21, followed by five terms in Congress and three as mayor of Baltimore.

During Nancy's youth, the D'Alesandro household revolved around her father's political life. "He set the tune, and we danced to it," says Thomas D'Alesandro III, Nancy's eldest brother, who also served as Baltimore's mayor. That tune was combative, pragmatic, and personal. The D'Alesandro home operated like a field office, with the children serving as auxiliary staff. Constituents streamed through the door starting at 10 a.m., and whoever was manning the front desk--a post at which every child served several hours a week starting at age 13--handled requests ranging from finding a family public housing to bailing someone's husband out of jail. It was quite the education, says D'Alesandro, Pelosi's brother. "We dealt with human nature in the raw."

A staunch Catholic and New Deal populist, Big Tommy conferred on his offspring a sense of society's obligation to the poor and powerless, enduring themes in his daughter's politics. But he also schooled them in the nuts and bolts, the transactional nature of the game. His career characterized by hard- fought races and endless vote-scrounging, Big Tommy was forever juggling the demands of the Poles, Germans, Irish, Czechs, Jews, and Italians in his district. Constituent service became his calling card, and Nancy and her brothers helped maintain a "favor file" on everyone for whom their father had ever found a job or served a hot meal. (Nancy's mom kept pots of stew and pasta sauce simmering at all hours to feed petitioners.) The operation also kept scrupulous count of how many votes it had-- and needed--from each precinct, block, ethnic group, union, to win an election. "Make sure you have the votes" was drilled into the D'Alesandro children's heads.

Nancy absorbed subtler lessons as well, including how a smart woman could amass power. At the core of Big Tommy's operation was Nancy's formidable mother, Anunciata, one of those women who, born to a different age, would have ruled outright. Smart and ambitious, Anunciata became Baltimore's first female auctioneer in the 1920s. But, when the company wanted to move her to New York, her parents refused. "She was from a very cloistered Italian family who thought working downtown was a sin," recalls D'Alesandro.

So, instead, the fetching Anunciata married a promising young go-getter from right across Albemarle Street, bore him six sons and one daughter, and threw herself into making her husband a success. She and her "moccasin network" of ladies knew everyone in town and what was happening on every block. She figured out the city's bureaucracies and whom to call to get a problem fixed. On Election Day, she patrolled the polling stations. Fiercely tribal, Anunciata served as her husband's chief enforcer and had a long memory for transgressions. "No one could say a word against him," says D'Alesandro. (Family legend holds that Anunciata once slugged a mouthy poll worker.) "With my mother," D'Alesandro told The Baltimore Sun in 2006, "there was no forgiving."

 

 

Anunciata had big dreams for her only daughter. "Our mother saw in Nancy what she had hoped to do," says D'Alesandro. While Nancy's brothers attended the neighborhood parish school, Nancy was sent to her mother's more prestigious alma mater, the all-girls Institute of Notre Dame. Later, over Big Tommy's objections, Anunciata pushed for Nancy to be the first D'Alesandro to attend college beyond Baltimore, at Trinity College in Washington, D.C.

There, Nancy's political interest solidified. Upon graduating in 1962, she wed beau Paul Pelosi and promptly began interning in the Senate offices of Maryland's Daniel Brewster (alongside future colleague Steny Hoyer). Between 1964 and 1969, she bore five children, but she never gave up the game. Settling in Paul's hometown of San Francisco, the young Mrs. Pelosi distinguished herself as an a-list hostess and fund-raiser. Moreover, as part of a bona fide political dynasty, she possessed connections well beyond the Bay Area's moneyed class. When former California governor Jerry Brown ran for president in 1976, he asked Pelosi to use her family's political juice to help him win the Maryland primary. She promptly volunteered to run Brown's campaign there. Brother Tommy was called on to flip through the favor file from his days as mayor and city council president, leading many of the state's big-name politicos to campaign with Brown. Pelosi has credited that episode with making her a player in the party. A year later, she became the Democratic chairwoman for northern California. By 1981, she was overseeing the entire state.

Pelosi suffered her first hard political blow in 1985, with her failed bid to become chairwoman of the national party. She ran as the moderate--as she did in her first congressional race a year later--arguing that Democrats must "move to the center" and become the "party of capitalism." Organized labor opposed her, and, at one point, a union official dismissed her as "an airhead."

It was a dig Pelosi neither forgot nor forgave and one that echoed broader gender barriers in the race--and throughout her career. A recent biography of Pelosi, Woman of the House, recounts her encounters with Democrats who told her during her chairman's race that, on the heels of Walter Mondale's 1984 defeat with Geraldine Ferraro on the ticket, they were loath to elevate another woman to a high-profile party post. "People tell me that I was the best-qualified candidate. But some of them tell me that it's too bad that I'm not a man," she told people privately. As biographer Vincent Bzdek writes, "More than any other single incident, the loss and the reasons for it left her with a moral indignation that drove her up Capitol Hill for years and years after. Her own ambition could now be lashed to the greater, more selfless cause of helping emancipate politics."

Conquering the congressional old boys' network has required all of Pelosi's personal and political skills. When the freshman congresswoman arrived in 1987, "this was essentially a white man's club," says longtime friend Representative George Miller. "And they really weren't going to invite her in." Pelosi set about outplanning, outmaneuvering, and outworking all doubters. To this day, word around the Capitol is that Pelosi doesn't sleep and seems to be everywhere at once: criss-crossing the country on behalf of members, raising money, giving speeches, counting votes, and meeting, meeting, meeting with whoever, as Representative Charlie Rangel puts it, needs "a little love" that day.

Pelosi is a meticulous vote-tracker, has an encyclopedic knowledge of the bills wending their way through committee, and keeps tabs on the political pressures confronting her flock. Her chief of staff, John Lawrence, explains: "She knows what the members need. She knows what the members want. And she knows the difference between the two." Seeking a member's support, the speaker will corner him in the halls and call him at all hours to let him talk until his concerns are conveyed if not resolved. "She has the patience of Job in doing that," says Rangel. She is also a master of the political grace note: remembering birthdays, sending out handwritten thank yous, inquiring after family members. All of this fund-raising, favor-granting, ego-stroking, and information-gathering comes in handy when it comes time to whip votes and forge compromises. By knowing everything about her members, Pelosi is better positioned to control them.

And make no mistake: Control is very important to Pelosi. Among staff, she has a reputation as a micromanaging control freak, with a sharp tongue and zero patience for team members who screw up. To her caucus, meanwhile, Pelosi made immediately clear that she planned to fully exercise the power of her office. Her decision to adhere to the Gingrich-era term-limiting of committee chairmen outraged some of the House's most senior eminences but has enabled her to demand far more obeisance than past Democratic leaders have received. (Caucus unity, she informs me, "is the most elegant message we can send.")

At times, this has meant launching a direct assault on a member's authority, as when she created a select committee on global warming over the objection of Energy Chairman John Dingell, with whom she has long feuded over fuel- efficiency standards. At others, she simply ignores proposals that don't fit her vision. (Think Ways and Means Chairman Rangel's tax-reform package.) Occasionally, Pelosi's heavy hand raises eyebrows, such as her booting fellow Californian Jane Harman off the Intelligence Committee, despite Harman's qualifications and high profile on the issue. And some complain that (like her mother) Pelosi nurses a grudge-holding tribalism. "She overpersonalizes everything," gripes one House Democratic aide. Her insistence on backing longtime ally John Murtha for majority leader over one-time whip rival Steny Hoyer was seen by many as a leadership failure that inflicted unnecessary bruises. But, overall, party members seem impressed by Pelosi's ability to make tough decisions and "herd the cats." Lauds a senior Senate aide who works closely with her, "The speaker has brass balls."

Of course, being a woman in a testosterone-heavy institution has its drawbacks: As Dick Armey memorably told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2002, "One of the reasons Nancy's abilities are not appreciated is that she is a beautiful woman." But possessing the proverbial "woman's touch" is also part of Pelosi's political arsenal, helping her twist the arms of some of Congress's grumpiest old bulls without putting them on the defensive. (A certain Ways and Means Committee chairman is said to be highly susceptible to her charms.) Some colleagues have described Pelosi's tough-love leadership style as "maternal." Others think it flows more from her upbringing. "She just knows how to schmooze these guys," says the speaker's communication director Brendan Daly, who posits that having "five older brothers helps." Barney Frank offers a more pointed analysis: "Nancy is a very smart woman who used to be a very smart girl at a time when smart girls were told that if they were too smart they would scare away the boys." Now, he adds, no matter how tough Pelosi has to be, in private she has "a manner" that helps soothe ruffled feathers. One leadership aide recalls a meeting in which a disgruntled committee chairman threatened to oppose a bill; Pelosi rose slowly from her seat and delivered a low-key but sternly disappointed lecture on the need for chairmen to set a unifying example. (The chastened member wound up supporting the bill.) Emily's List president Ellen Malcolm has dubbed Pelosi's expression in such situations "The Grandmother Look."

 

This look--in fact, the whole maternal role--is key to Pelosi's political identity. Pelosi may be tough, even feminist, but not in the in-your-face '70s way that Hillary Clinton is often associated with. She has never downplayed her femininity and is known for her Armani suits, Tahitian pearls, and oh-so-girly chocolate habit.

The pronounced femininity works because it is naturally who she is, but it is also savvy politics: Such self-marketing undermines GOP efforts to paint Pelosi as a left-wing extremist out of touch with mainstream values. The speaker makes frequent reference to her years as a stay-at-home mom, while staffers and colleagues are quick to attribute leadership tricks and personal ticks to her time in the domestic trenches. Following Pelosi's swearing in as speaker, the media was awash in photos of her, gavel in hand, surrounded by her grandkids as well as the children of other members. She looked deceptively like your garden-variety grandma--albeit vastly better coiffed.

 

 

Life at the top, of course, is never easy. Her rookie year, Pelosi drew fire from all sides: from the left for being a politics-as-usual sellout, from the right for being a partisan defeatist, and from the entire chattering class for being outplayed by Republicans. Even as colleagues gave her good reviews for holding the caucus together and passing several bills (including ethics reform, a minimum-wage increase, and a bump in student aid), the press and blogosphere deemed her a grave disappointment for letting Republicans kick her around on all the really meaty issues like children's health care, stem-cell research, and, most notably, Iraq.

Then came spring, and, thanks to a series of high-profile clashes, Pelosi now finds herself being talked about like a cross between Tip O'Neill and Margaret Thatcher. She continues to hold the line against Republican efforts to grant telecom companies immunity from wiretapping lawsuits. She regularly blocks the minority from amending bills--recently sending Minority Leader John Boehner into a rage on the House floor. ("[T]he majority has an obligation to treat the minority with respect!" he bellowed.) She has postponed consideration of many spending bills altogether until a new president takes office. And, in mid-April, she led her caucus in a vote to derail the president's efforts to force consideration of a free-trade agreement with Colombia. Then she gleefully rubbed Bush's nose in the defeat at a post-vote press conference. Decrying Pelosi's iron grip on the gavel, columnist Robert Novak dubbed her "Czar Nancy. " A once-mocking press now marvels at her facility for hardball, even as the liberal blog Daily Kos recently cheered, "This is what congressional spine looks like."

But, arguably, the individual most responsible for Pelosi's newly fearsome stature is Hillary Clinton. It was, after all, the letter from angry Hillary donors that overnight cast Pelosi as a defender of the Democratic grassroots. Progressives in particular--many of whom spent much of last year trashing Pelosi's leadership as timid and pathetic-- celebrated her refusal to be cowed by arrogant party fat cats. Likewise, reports that pro-Clinton movie mogul Harvey Weinstein had tried to compel Pelosi to back his plan for a revote in Florida and Michigan (charges that Weinstein has denied) raised hackles around the speaker's office and burnished the image of Pelosi as a bulwark against an out-of-control Clinton machine.

Even Pelosi's Colombian tussle with Bush had greater resonance because of Hillary. Public attention to trade has risen dramatically in recent months, as Hillary has pitched herself as the anti-nafta choice of blue-collar voters. Colombia specifically snagged the spotlight in early April, when Hillary adviser Mark Penn had to resign as top strategist after revelations that, in his day job as a p.r. executive, he had been working with the Colombian government to advance the trade pact--despite his candidate's opposition to it. As fortune would have it, Hillary helped turn Colombian trade into a hot topic just in time for the speaker to stick it to Bush on the issue.

And so, at long last, Pelosi is getting props from across the political spectrum as a power player. The Iraq war still rages, congressional Republicans still have the numbers to scuttle most Democratic legislation (though Pelosi always has one eye on fattening her governing margin come November), and whether Pelosi is leading her members in a sensible direction depends on your political perspective. But, for now, Madame Speaker has quieted the speculation that she lacks the skill, the smarts, and, most importantly, the cojones to lead her caucus.

Looked at one way, Pelosi shouldn't be annoyed with Team Clinton. Rather, she owes Hillary one of her famous thank-you notes--a collegial, even sisterly nod for helping Pelosi answer the annoying but enduring question all women in politics must eventually address: Is She Tough Enough? The answer, quite clearly, is yes.

Michelle Cottle is a senior editor of The New Republic
 

 

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

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143 comments

This is a great profile, but it leaves one key stone unturned: might Pelosi on some level, having worked her way up, resent Hillary's sense of entitlement and habit of putting her own interests ahead of the party's?

- Bob Vance / Vance Refrigeration

May 28, 2008 at 7:45pm

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Haven't read the article yet, but A+ for the title alone.

- ralphnelle

May 30, 2008 at 12:06am

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For better or worse, when she does a good job and when she screws it up, there is no reason to doubt that Nancy Pelosi is working for the good of the Democratic party and its agenda. The same cannot be said of Hillary Clinton who does give a rat's ass about the Democratic party. It is merely the vehicle for her ambition. When the boob David Brooks wrote the other day that Obama would need an old hand to shepherd legislation through Congress, it seems to have escaped his notice that there are Democratic congressional leaders who are eager to work with Obama to do that. First among them is Nancy Pelosi. I am so glad she is not a Hillarista.

- roidubouloi

May 30, 2008 at 12:26am

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I'm an Obama supporter, but I loathe and detest Nancy Pelosi. The woman's a slag, and very corrupt. I hope that the latest threat of an ethics scandal will take her down and remove her from any position of power.

- Mary

May 30, 2008 at 12:29am

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I concur with Bob that this is a good read. I just have a rhetorical question though, if a Clinton advisor is calling Pelosi a skirt, what does that say about which campaign is sexist? I mean really.

- Brandon

May 30, 2008 at 1:00am

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I'm very glad that Pelosi is doing what she's doing--as an Obama supporter. The Clintons have taken this view that rules don't apply to them. It's increasingly looking like in the next couple weeks Pelosi will lead in laying down the law and bringing down the hammer on the Clinton campaign if they refuse to concede. This is a Democratic year. If the Clintons want to turn themselves into a rogue faction sabotaging the party, then they need to be slapped down like any other slimeballs who get too big for their britches. This is not the Clintocrat Party. This is the Democratic Party. If this party believes in the rule of law, it doesn't matter a whit how important Clinton thinks she is. She needs to be squashed like anybody else who would try to start an insurrection to quench their own reckless ambition.

- Abe

May 30, 2008 at 1:38am

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Nice work on the art direction.

- fartedloudly

May 30, 2008 at 4:38am

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Nice job Michelle.

- frank in nc

May 30, 2008 at 6:18am

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What a fine article Michelle. You are doing such good work pretty consistently. Thank you for illuminating our understanding of the American political scene. One of the interesting sidelights to the whole "Hillary is being disrespected as a woman" is to see that no one has been more willing to stand up to Hillary then Pelosi. Poor Obama has to walk around Hillary on tiptoes for fear of offending her and her supporters. Meanwhile, Hillary slimes Obama, whips up her supporters against Obama and the DNC, reiterates and contrives every nasty rumor about Obama.... I'm so glad that Nancy stood up the the Clinton stooges. Where were Taylor Marsh and all the Feminsts(of which I certainly consider myself one)when the boys were playing rough with Nancy? Of course, they were on the side of the boys. Their hypocracy does not serve the Feminist movement well at all.

- sabatia

May 30, 2008 at 8:01am

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She may be the "speaker" but she certainly doesn't speak for me...I'm ashamed and embarrassed by her comments. There will be a tremendous backlash within this party, and it will be a historical fact that Ms. Pelosi fanned the flames. She will have to accept her part in the destruction of this party.

- dmooney

May 30, 2008 at 8:23am

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The best point was made in the first few paragraphs. I think the Dem's are pushing the "empty suit" Obama so that they can have a president that can be handled, as opposed to Clinton, who is more seasoned, and has seen the workings of the office from the inside. I was a big fan of Pelosi when she first became speaker, however, I'm losing respect for her now.

- NVD

May 30, 2008 at 8:29am

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Bob, your comment is grossly uniformed. While both you and Nancy Pelosi may hate Hillary Clinton, the fact that she has spent a life time working very hard for the Democratic Party cannot be ignored. She has raised more money for the party than anyone in history (perhaps with the exception of her husband) and fought hard to get Democratic candidates elected over the years. Nancy Pelosi's ham fisted attempts to ensure an Obama nomination will drive many Democrats out of the party. While the author of this article see's Pelosi as a workhorse who has achieved much during her tenure as Speaker, most Americans see things differently, as evidenced by congressional approval ratings that are worse than those of G.W. Bush. Nancy Pelosi should pay more attention to her job rather than scheme to cement her power base by meddling in electoral politics. Thus far she is showing herself as a bitter woman who is obsessed with power. I for one will be leaving the Democratic Party this election cycle (after being a very loyal Democrat for 30 years,) due in large part to the scheming of the Democratic leadership to ensure an Obama nomination. I would ardently suggest to Senator Clinton that she leave the party and become an independent. The Democratic Party has turned their back on her and she owes them no allegiance.

- AJ

May 30, 2008 at 8:32am

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Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, is third in the line of succession to the Office of President of the United States, meaning if neither George Bush nor Dick Cheney is able to carry out the duties of their respective offices, she's it. I teach my teenage son to respect the office, if not the office holder. So, I will not demean the prominent role she fills in our government, nor will I call her any names or disparage her intellectual acumen. Having said this, I want to make perfectly clear that I find her resolve to exercise her considerable authority to 'signal' an end to the primary contest between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, pre-convention, anathema to the best interests of the democracy from which she derives this authority in the first place. I am especially troubled that a public official of her stature cites as justification for her somber decision to disenfranchise millions of voters in FL and MI; they have to be taught a lesson.

- jbjd

May 30, 2008 at 8:38am

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Isn't Nancy Pelosi the biggest hypocrite in politics today. She says she is neutral but she has gone out of her way to lend support to Obama. She spoke against the joint ticket which she had no business to do because this is the decision that Obama and Clinton have to make. Having achieved the first woman speaker title, isn't she angling to be the first female VP or President? Ambition blinds people to reality. And by diminishing Hillary she shows what a petty politician she is.

- iThinker

May 30, 2008 at 8:47am

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I must have missed the part where Congress' approval rating is 16%. Didn't the Speaker contribute to that number with her scorched earth policy?

- Terry Lord

May 30, 2008 at 8:49am

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I do wonder what Pelosi's motives are. She keeps appearing on all of these talk news shows insisting that an Obama/Clinton ticket is impossible, she's going to be the great "decider" in all of this. All of these politicians have motives, usually power hungry ones. My guess is she Dodd, Kerry and the rest believe they can push Obama around more easily than Clinton. It's typical, sort of like when a more seasoned, older supervisor would prefer to hire a younger, more inexperienced employee because the older more experienced one can't be pushed around as easily. Obama is just a puppet for the democratic insiders. They know Clinton is more electable, however, Pelosi probably couldn't run all over the world acting like the president under Hillary Clinton.

- jules

May 30, 2008 at 8:50am

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I liked when she went to Syria and had tea with Assad and had starry eyed photo ops with him, then talked him up to the press. Yeah, a real badass, Michelle.

- Davesax

May 30, 2008 at 9:06am

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Nancy Pelosi is JEALOUS of Hillary Clinton. Since the time Clinton started running for President, SHE has been the woman in Washington most talked about by the press and Pelosi has mostly been forgotten. So, she puts in her fake smile (which is transparent as heck) for the media and swipes Clinton every chance she gets. Nancy, let it go.

- Ryan Healey

May 30, 2008 at 9:15am

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Most people have latched on the cliches like "throwing the kitchen sink," "entitlement," it's amusing. Those who make their living in politics put their interests first including Pelosi. Those who think otherwise have their heads in the sand. My thought is of all these imperfect people who can best perform in an imperfect world. The first criteria is experience.

- Ofelia

May 30, 2008 at 9:22am

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When we eventually nominate a woman for President (and we will) this is the model of the woman it should be.....someone who "made it" on her own....not the wife of a former President (a la Argentina).

- Frank Scarangello

May 30, 2008 at 10:00am

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This is a great article, thank you. It was wonderful to read of the background on Ms. Pelosi; it is quite impressive. Nevertheless, she did come from a family of politicians which made the rise easier for her. Bearing five children in five years must have been tough and raising them tougher, BUT THEN AGAIN, how REALLY tough is it if you have the money to have help....not too tough then; you are away from them while you go to work and then you come home. Much like what many men do. Unfortunately, the problem with Ms. Pelosi is that she is stingy. She does not want, or could handle at this time, another woman as powerful as she is working in the government at her, or above, her level. The problem with "not being a team player with women" is OLD SCHOOL. She is able to work with men, not woman. In order to grow and get to the top, woman need to support one another and not be jealous of each other. Men (the big boy NETWORK) stay a NETWORK because they support each other, even though they might not agree with others' ideas. THAT is the lesson here. It is said that "woman are harder on each other". HILLARY HAS CHANGED THAT - at this point in the campaign that paradigm shift has happened - and continues AT THIS MOMENT to happen - with woman and young girls all over the country because of Hillary's voice and actions. Hillary is the catalyst for this; Ms. Pelosi is holding us all back with her selfish, up-tight, neurotic, short sighted views. She is out for herself and not the big picture. As a woman who almost saw the glass ceiling break, I see this being very very very sad. In the end, how ironic and pathetic it is that another WOMAN who bars our rise.

- Rebecca

May 30, 2008 at 10:03am

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Michelle, I love your article, every word of it! Wonderful portrait.

- tomeg

May 30, 2008 at 10:18am

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I love Speaker Pelosi - I'm just disappointed that the Armenian Genocide resolution got so much heat from the president and State Department. It's a sad day when the USA lets itself get bullied by an "ally" like Turkey. Some ally.

- michael

May 30, 2008 at 10:48am

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Hillary Clinton's candidacy remains in the best interest of the Democratic Party, if the party wishes to take leadership at this time, as the Clintons,in their sort of pragmatic idealism, legitimately wish to do. It is more likely, however, that there is a more cynical leadership, including Pelosi, who would prefer to lose the presidency while advertising itself as the face of a new generation, signing up a new generation as it were, and instead dominate the Congress, so that the legacy of the Bush regime's disasters are inherited by a Republican administration rather than a Democratic one. The Obama candidacy is in the tradition of the McGovern, Dukakis, and Kerry candidacies - whose key consituencies are idealists for whom idealism itself is affordable or represents the generational change of youth who reject heroes of their parents and the struggles that created them. Four years of a failed McCain administration are more likely to produce a generation of Democratic leadership than four years of a noble struggle on the part of Democrats to navigate their way out of Iraq, out from under the massive debt burden and financial meltdown that has been the result of reckless spending and virtually non-existent or corrupt oversight of the major economic institutions on the part of regulatory agencies. With a strong majority in the House and Senate, the Democrats can mitigate the damage that is the legacy of the Conservative movement while, in a masterful display of passive-aggression, the Democratic leadership can weaken the last Conservative leader who will stand exposed as the doddering figurehead of the Republican's transgenerational failure.

- Jonathan Brostrom

May 30, 2008 at 10:57am

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Hillary Clinton's candidacy remains in the best interest of the Democratic Party, if the party wishes to take leadership at this time, as the Clintons,in their sort of pragmatic idealism, legitimately wish to do. It is more likely, however, that there is a more cynical leadership, including Pelosi, who would prefer to lose the presidency while advertising itself as the face of a new generation, signing up a new generation as it were, and instead dominate the Congress, so that the legacy of the Bush regime's disasters are inherited by a Republican administration rather than a Democratic one. The Obama candidacy is in the tradition of the McGovern, Dukakis, and Kerry candidacies - whose key consituencies are idealists for whom idealism itself is affordable or represents the generational change of youth who reject heroes of their parents and the struggles that created them. Four years of a failed McCain administration are more likely to produce a generation of Democratic leadership than four years of a noble struggle on the part of Democrats to navigate their way out of Iraq, out from under the massive debt burden and financial meltdown that has been the result of reckless spending and virtually non-existent or corrupt oversight of the major economic institutions on the part of regulatory agencies. With a strong majority in the House and Senate, the Democrats can mitigate the damage that is the legacy of the Conservative movement while, in a masterful display of passive-aggression, the Democratic leadership can weaken the last Conservative leader who will stand exposed as the doddering figurehead of the Republican's transgenerational failure.

- Jonathan Brostrom

May 30, 2008 at 10:58am

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AJ - In what way has the Democratic Party "schemed" to help Obama win? By using the same delegate selection rules they've used for the past 20 years? You're seriously off your rocker if you believe that there's been some kind of behind-the-scenes plotting to prop up Obama.

- Howard

May 30, 2008 at 11:02am

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These Hillary supporters on here are hillarious. I wasn't very excited about Mrs Pelosi becoming speaker (at all) but I must say she has gained at least some of my respect in the last year or so. Good article.

- Neal

May 30, 2008 at 11:05am

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lower job approval ratings than even our favourite whipping boy George Bush... an important point you somehow failed to mention. As a leader it is her responsibilty to deliver results in this case legislation moving the democratic agenda forward. She has failed miserably. Making Bush look like a lame duck is really not a priority for me.

- Prithi

May 30, 2008 at 11:11am

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Nancy Pelosi is so enjoying her new power status that she would prefer dividing the party by her not so subtle winking endorsement of Obama and rejection of Clinton that she will be able to play the role of Queen of the Democratic Party for the next four years when John McCain becomes President.

-

May 30, 2008 at 11:16am

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Nancy Pelosi is so enjoying her new power status that she would prefer dividing the party by her not so subtle winking endorsement of Obama and rejection of Clinton that she will be able to play the role of Queen of the Democratic Party for the next four years when John McCain becomes President.

- Todd

May 30, 2008 at 11:16am

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ON HER OWN? Didnt you read her bio..Palosi is the biggest example of eletist, entitled politician..

- alforhil

May 30, 2008 at 11:19am

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@ Ryan You say "Nancy Pelosi is JEALOUS of Hillary Clinton". Why should Pelosi bother to be jealous of Hillary Clinton-- at least her husband hasn't humiliated her on a national scale-- several times. I would actually say it's the other way around-- Pelosi has really power in Washington (that she earned herself, by the way), Clinton is the cuckolded junior senator from New York. Pelosi is the queen of all she surveys-- Clinton is a manufactured, whiny crybaby who can't get her way. And Ryan, from a feminist viewpoint, you're sexist. Michelle excellent article. Pelosi rocks!

- lebecka

May 30, 2008 at 11:23am

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I agree with the first comment. Hillary has the experience of a senior departmental staff member. She has dozens of 10 point programs and overtalks each one. Hillary claims she could take on the Republicans because she's already withstood their attacks! Hillary was called names. That's nothing compared to the mud-wrestling Pelosi had to master on her way to the Speakership There is no comparison between the two.

- CAMtwo

May 30, 2008 at 11:27am

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Three cheers for Nancy... for all the wrong reasons. What has she done for our country lately? All I see is obstruction, partisan bickering, lack of vision,inability to see what is good for the country, and an abysmal viewpoint of what is currently happening in Iraq. FISA, and the failure of the Columbia Free Trade Agreement are just two reasons why this woman is dangerous for our country. With Congress's approval rating even lower than Bush's, one might question just how effective is she. I just do not see anything but politics as usual at the expense of America's best interest.

- john szabo

May 30, 2008 at 11:31am

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I agree with one comment, she is working for the good of the Democratic Party, but in reality that is NOT WORKING for the good of the people of the US.

- Nitro

May 30, 2008 at 11:44am

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Pelosi and Reid wants to move up the convention to June. Penalty for breaking the rules should be only one of them gets to vote. Let's see how they like it!

- Sylvia Johnsen

May 30, 2008 at 12:02pm

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The suggestion that "the fury and disappointment of the females is short-term maneuvering...and in many cases, it is rooted in the empathy of women who themselves broke gender barriers at various levels of politics." is only partly true...is not only limited to females in politicis. I am a female who has always worked in a male oriented field (Safety Engineer). Needless to say, I have seen males given greater pay increases and promoted long before the females in my field. This was our chance to help future generations of females get an even break at work....but the young females, who have yet to feel the sting of being considered second class were not there for Hillary and Politicians who have made it like Pelosi were not there for us...they followed the popular male lead, wanted to be accepted as "one of the guys". I am so disappointed that after 40 yrs of faithful voting democrat, I am changing my party affiliation to Independent. I will problably not vote for McCain, but I certainly will not vote for Obama, from the "me first, put me ahead of the line" generation. Hillary needs to run as an Independent in order for us females to get the message over to ALL males that we will not be hookwinked ever again!

- Syl

May 30, 2008 at 12:03pm

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America don't know what democracy is? Bush should invade and teach them.

- Sylvia from Oslo

May 30, 2008 at 12:04pm

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I won't bother with most of the Hillarista crap up there. It is the usual garbage. But the notion the Nancy Pelosi has some obligation to be neutral, either about the candidates or the process, is completely over-the-top ridiculous. If she wanted to endorse a candidate at any time, she had the perfect right, not just as a legal matter but as an institutional matter, to do so. If she wants the super-delegates to get off the fence so that the process comes to a conclusion, she has every right to so say, both openly and behind the scenes. If she wants to twist arms for Obama or for Hillary, she has every right to do so (do any of the Hillaristas imagine that the Clintons are not twisting arms out of sockets in any way they can?). This is what political leaders are supposed to do. They are not referees. They are partisan leaders. Anyone who doesn't get that has no business writing any sort of political commentary. You have to at least understand some of the very basic things about politics and political life or you end up spouting nonsense, which most of the Hillarista stuff is. If Hillary Clinton wanted Nancy Pelosi as an ally, which she surely should have if she has any brains at all, she has had plenty of time to work on that since she has been running for president since 2000. The fact that she either couldn't or wouldn't do what is necessary is just more evidence that Hillary is utterly incompetent as a politician. Indeed, until just a few weeks ago, you couldn't even really call her a politician because has never had to make her way politically, unlike Obama. She was handed the nomination for the senate because she was married to the departing president and she never had to run against any competition worth the name. She has had "starpower" courtesy of Bill and thus never had to learn how to conduct herself. Even the powerful, including the president, have to bend a knee to other powers if they want to accomplish anything. Everyone has to get their measure of respect. I have seen with my own eyes Hillary Clinton walk into a ballroom of local Democratic leaders and activists in NY like she was the queen of the party, no pausing to chat to say hello to anyone. Nothing whatever to indicate that the work of the party is a common cause, not a court over which she reigns. Her hauteur alone is enough for her to be despised. She is reaping what she has sown, or more properly failed to sow, in her eight years as a wannabe leader. I have vastly more respect for Nancy Pelosi today than I did before I read this article and before I read that she and Reid are going to get those super-delegates off the fence as soon as the primaries are over. Finally, I would like to hear one, just one, plausible reason why the super-delegates owe it to Hillary Clinton or her supporters to refrain from committing to a candidate prior to the convention. Where on earth did that notion come from? It certainly wasn't the case prior to the primaries when Hillary was happy to rack up a lead of 135 super-delegates before the voting had even begun.

- roidubouloi

May 30, 2008 at 12:05pm

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The suggestion that "the fury and disappointment is about more than short-term maneuvering...and in many cases, it is rooted in the empathy of women who themselves broke gender barriers at various levels of politics." is only partly true...it isn't only limited to females in politicis. I am a female who has always worked in a male oriented field (Safety Engineer). Needless to say, I have seen males given greater pay increases and promoted long before the females in my field. This was our chance to help future generations of females get an even break at work....but the young females, who have yet to feel the sting of being considered second class were not there for Hillary and us...they followed the popular male lead. I am so disappointed that after 40 yrs of faithful voting democrat, I am changing my party affiliation to Independent. I will problably not vote for McCain, but I certainly will not vote for Obama, from the "me first, put me ahead of the line" generation. Hillary needs to run as an Independent in order for us females to get the message over to ALL males that we will not be hookwinked ever again!

- Syl

May 30, 2008 at 12:15pm

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What a lot of hateful comments directed towards this woman, Rep. Pelosi. This is what happens to anybody who does not kiss the Clinton ring--they are vilified and degraded. Clinton is just like Bush in that they place loyalty over competence. Boy, I supported Hillary and donated to her campaign for over a year, but I am embarassed by the desire of her supporters to blame someone, anyone. Today its Nancy Pelosi, yesterday it was Howard Dean, the day before it was the media, and the day before that it was men, and the day before that it was Obama. I am one of million Americans who started out this campaign supporting Hillary but who would vote against her now for Dog Catcher. She and her supporters are just lying, racist, vicious scum. Clinton supporter are racist scum.

- sabatia

May 30, 2008 at 12:20pm

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without reading in full there is one question: Are you really backing Hillary for President? If yes, still yes, yes after all we have expirienced over the last 20 years, than, I thing I can't help you. The best argument, your backing Girl Hillary has left is:::: I am better than my colleague. What a convincing argument. Good night Irene!!!!!

- seoul

May 30, 2008 at 12:22pm

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As I read all the derogatory nasty comments about Rep. Pelosi, almost all from supporters of Clinton, there is one thing that is clear: Clinton supporters will degrade and seek to humiliate anyone who is not lock-step into drinking their Fascist kool-aid. They disgust me. So many of them are simply racist pigs.

- sabatia

May 30, 2008 at 12:22pm

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I liked the art a lot.

- John McCain

May 30, 2008 at 12:23pm

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FEMINISTS: How does it advance your agenda to degrade the woman who has achieved the highest Constitutional rank of any woman in American history? Half the comments say Pelosi is too much of a leftist elitist the other half of the comments say that she is too far to the right and too much of a compromiser. You just want to say negative things because she is not supporting your Goddess, Hillary. Well, its Nancy's right and Hillary has lost--not because of sexism or the establishment, but because she ran a lousy campaign. So stop your blaming and whining. It does OUR Feminist movement no good--quite the contrary.

- sabatia

May 30, 2008 at 12:30pm

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Excellent article in portraying a formidable political operator who will be essential in the transformation of the political landscape after Obama's landslide in November. Her profound experience of small "p" and large "P" politics suggests that substantial and effective policies can be implemented with Democrat control of Congress and the Oval Office. Fantastic prospect.

- Leo Regan

May 30, 2008 at 12:46pm

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Yep...ON HER OWN. I'm an old Italian Baltimore resident. Trust me on this - Pelosi was born and raised at a time when Italian daughters were brought up to get married and have kids. That's all! She didn't marry a Pol....she moved to S. F. and made her mark there....not in Baltimore where she was known. And she did it without relying on her husband's name and position. Does anyone think Hillary would be Senator from NY if she wasn't married to the President?? Doubt it. ..and I would have had more respect for her if she had left that Bubba after Lewinski.....

- scarangello

May 30, 2008 at 12:46pm

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Pelosi and no sense of entitlement?! Please! With Pelosi coming from a powerful political dynasty, her "overcoming" is as much a fairy tale as Obama's "overcoming opressive and repressive environment for a black male" (private schools all the way from elementary to Columbia to Harvard). There is a historic tradition and precendents in this country and around the world for wives running for political , including at times their husbands' offices too. Some old state legislature would even encourage it in recognition of importance of the political spouse to the success (in Hillary case, to a huge degree) of their husbands. The latest examples: look at Elisabeth Dole and... Pelosi herself.

- Indyfan

May 30, 2008 at 1:24pm

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Crab in the barrell - that is Pelosi is!!

- David

May 30, 2008 at 1:34pm

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Pelosi is a crab in the barrell!!

- David

May 30, 2008 at 1:35pm

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Interesting that there's no comment here whatsoever on the fact that HRC, supposedly so loyal to the Democratic party, publicly proclaimed that McCain would be a better C-in-C than Obama. Hillary's words are turned against Pelosi, who was only making the extremely obvious point that it signals no love lost between the two candidates and signals no desire for Hillary to be on the team of the supposedly inferior Obama. Why would Hillary *want* to be veep for someone she thinks would be worse than McCain? How could this possibly be taken as a sign that Pelosi doesn't want Hillary? I think it's time for the Oppression Olympics to end. I respect all those women supporting her because she's a woman, but let's face it, electing a woman president isn't exactly going to solve the wage gap or end sexism, the same way electing Barack Obama isn't going to make people stop saying things like "hardworking people, white people." Electing Hillary isn't going to get my son or husband to keep leaving their dirty clothes on the floor for me. (Let me know when the candidate, male, female or other, runs who can do that, they have my vote.)

- jibeaux

May 30, 2008 at 1:36pm

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Interesting that there's no comment here whatsoever on the fact that HRC, supposedly so loyal to the Democratic party, publicly proclaimed that McCain would be a better C-in-C than Obama. Hillary's words are turned against Pelosi, who was only making the extremely obvious point that it signals no love lost between the two candidates and signals no desire for Hillary to be on the team of the supposedly inferior Obama. Why would Hillary *want* to be veep for someone she thinks would be worse than McCain? How could this possibly be taken as a sign that Pelosi doesn't want Hillary? I think it's time for the Oppression Olympics to end. I respect all those women supporting her because she's a woman, but let's face it, electing a woman president isn't exactly going to solve the wage gap or end sexism, the same way electing Barack Obama isn't going to make people stop saying things like "hardworking people, white people." Electing Hillary isn't going to get my son or husband to keep leaving their dirty clothes on the floor for me. (Let me know when the candidate, male, female or other, runs who can do that, they have my vote.)

- jibeaux

May 30, 2008 at 1:37pm

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An Obama run without Hillary on it, will fail in November no matter what you guys do or think. Nancy Pelosi is just jealous of the other big skirt in the democratic party. The Dodds and kerrys and Pelosi are trying to get an opportunity to run washington under an Obama presidency. Unfortunately for them Obama is just another politician like Bill or Hill Clinton, who will show them his true colors when he gets that power. All this pelosi noise is BS and I bet you guys OBAMA will rush to newyork when all this has settled down to beg hillary to run with him. That is his only route to the white house. He wins the primary because of the way folks view and treat her, he gets main street figthing credits credit again natinally just because he is beating her. So folks OBAMA's future is tied down to Hillary whether he likes it or not. SO chill Pelosi and prepare to run in 12 years.

- Neville

May 30, 2008 at 1:49pm

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She is out for Nancy and always has been. She does not care about the Democratic party she cares about being alpha female. She knows the Obama will defer to her she already sees he is intimidated by agressive women hiding under designer clothing. She can see that from the interaction between him and Michele. Very calculating Mrs Pelosi is. She is the kind who does not see other women as equals only as competition. Her bias against Hillary will come full circle back to her. It is just the way life's circle is....

- dj

May 30, 2008 at 2:10pm

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Now this is the 'feminism' we should all be celebrating - not the 'victim' feminism so shwily adorned by Hillary...

- Sheila

May 30, 2008 at 2:23pm

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There are more troops in Iraq now than before Pelosi was speaker. That is all that needs to be said.

- cthulhu2008

May 30, 2008 at 2:25pm

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I am a 58-year-old African American woman. Everytime I see "second class citizen" springing forth from feminist it makes me sick to my stomach. You don't know what it is like to be a second class citizen. The feminist movement has never represented me and neither does HRC. Your main priority is to get a woman in the WH, not a democrat. Go Independent; more power to you.

- Lady C

May 30, 2008 at 2:38pm

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This is the woman who declared the war in Iraq lost while our troops were on the ground fighting - whether you agree with the war or not, that was a despicable thing to say. Now she says that the recent progress is the "good will" of Iran. This woman is either retarded or such a partisan hack that she will say anything stupid to hurt the Administration - not the sign of a good leader. She is a vapid pol who is trying to stop Hillary so she can remain the top female Dem.

- Bill

May 30, 2008 at 2:38pm

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Its amazing the number of you who love Nancy Pelosi. Nancy promised change and couldn't deliver. Nor was she willing to go after Bush, for either war crimes or impeachment. To equate her above Clinton on any level makes some of you seem like idiots. I, for one, have left the Democratic Party. It is equally guilty for the deaths of thousands as the Bush administration is. Barack Obama can guarantee 1 thing. Appeasement to terrorists. Shame on all of you.

- Ric

May 30, 2008 at 2:50pm

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Really intriguing all the character assassination directed at Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the woman who has achieved the highest constitutional office of any woman in the history of the United States. And all some of you commenters--dj, neville, Indyfan-- can provide is petty sniping and slightly slimy(a reflection of your mind?) psychobabble innuendo to undermine whatever complex reasons Pelosi has for being where she is and acting how she does. What good does your nastiness towards Nancy do? Does it help us to achieve a better world? Does it advance the position of women? Or is it just spite because she may not be for Hillary? Spite? What a wonderful emotion!

- sabatia

May 30, 2008 at 2:57pm

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I will problably not vote for McCain, but I certainly will not vote for Obama, from the "me first, put me ahead of the line" generation. I'm sorry, but a baby-boomer pointing fingers at others and calling them the "me first, put me ahead of the line" generation is just too rich for words.

- Libarbarian

May 30, 2008 at 2:58pm

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The senior skirt comment was an interesting perspective, although I have never actually seen HRC in a skirt. Have however seen enough pictures of her with whiskey in hand to wonder how steady that had would be at the helm.

- SDindependent

May 30, 2008 at 3:01pm

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An Obama run without Hillary on it, will fail in November no matter what you guys do or think. We will see in November, won't we?

- libarbarian

May 30, 2008 at 3:04pm

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Bad Ass Pelosi lol I think she is wicked!

- JJ

May 30, 2008 at 3:17pm

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Nancy Pelosi worked her way up the hard way. Hillary married it, then proclaimed "experience." Now Hillary wants her defeat attributed to "sexism." Give me a break. Nancy Pelosi is an example of how you overcome sexism by putting your nose to the grind stone, not whining about your victimization.

- sfdem

May 30, 2008 at 3:21pm

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Great article. Love Nancy Pelosi. Making it on her own intelligence, fortitude, character and determination. Not by whining, blaming and playing the victim because of her gender.

- Rendrag

May 30, 2008 at 3:35pm

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Tough, gracious and classy. Hillary Clinton should have taken a few lessons from Pelosi before running for President.

- funnyguy

May 30, 2008 at 3:39pm

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Hilary Clinton supportors are just like the 27 per centers that still support Bush. Truly the most disgusting people in the world. Obama crushed her despite her racist and sexist campaign; her deranged supporters continue to froth at the mouth anyway. This cretin can't go away soon enough. Hopefully then all these "poor", "disenfranchised" old racist white hags will then shut up.

- LiberalisNOTaDirtyWord

May 30, 2008 at 3:42pm

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Nancy is bad for the DNC. She has ruined the Democratic party with her petty belief that only she and the party have all of the answers and whatever might come from across the aisle in wrong. Isolationist? Her comment that the war in Iraq can never be won and it is a lost cause has betrayed every American Soldier who has given his/her life, limb and other sacrifice. She should be ashamed of herself. If this was WWII, she would be accused of being a nazi sympathizer. It has been apparent that she backs a man without experience and I question why? Does she think she'll be the puppetmaster pulling his strings? I will not vote for Obama - he did not receive enough votes to be the nominee - because of Nancy, Harry and Dean.

- Lindamae

May 30, 2008 at 3:46pm

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Nancy is bad for the DNC. She has ruined the Democratic party with her petty belief that only she and the party have all of the answers and whatever might come from across the aisle in wrong. Isolationist? Her comment that the war in Iraq can never be won and it is a lost cause has betrayed every American Soldier who has given his/her life, limb and other sacrifice. She should be ashamed of herself. If this was WWII, she would be accused of being a nazi sympathizer. It has been apparent that she backs a man without experience and I question why? Does she think she'll be the puppetmaster pulling his strings? I will not vote for Obama - he did not receive enough votes to be the nominee - because of Nancy, Harry and Dean.

- Lindamae

May 30, 2008 at 3:49pm

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Great article! Don't mess with the "Godmother". Nancy has power and is willing to use it gently or forcefully when she needs to. You go Speaker!

- mom2sons

May 30, 2008 at 3:50pm

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Good story. The portrait that emerges of Nancy Pelosi is of a woman who takes advantage of her inherent feminine traits, her charm, her looks, her maternal instincts, organizational instincts, etc., to get the job done. She is a woman who is not ashamed to be a woman! Badass she may be, but with such class and style! What a contrast with Hillary, who does her best to hide her femininity. Has she used it except to rally feminists in a last ditch effort to salvage her candidacy? Her pants suits, her 3AM phone calls, and her Bosnia sniper fire bravado are all meant to convey the subliminal message that she is really a man. I do look forward to the US electing a woman president, but when we do, I hope it will be the feminine, i.e., Nancy Pelosi, kind!

- wmw

May 30, 2008 at 3:53pm

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Fiftheenth Amendment - 1870 No person may be kept from voting because of race of color. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were the Civil Rights Amendments. It wasn't until the 19th Amendment - 1920 - that women were considered capable of voting. Women got the vote 50 years after Black men. We still receive less per hour than men. I supported Hillary not because she was a woman, but because she had experience and a clear message of what her issues were. I've read a lot about Barack and find nothing. Change? Change to what? I don't give blank checks out to anyone. I would not expect anyone to support Barack because of color. Racism and sexism are both wrong.

- Lindamae

May 30, 2008 at 3:59pm

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Nancy Pelosi consistently fails to impress. It's difficult to imagine the Democrats holding power long after Janury 2009 if their "leadership" team consists of people like Obama, Pelosi and Reid. The GOP could even make a chant of it, as FDR did when he skewered the Republicans with "Martin, Barton and Fish." If Obama wins, the next sound to be heard will be the Republican congressional election tsumani of 2010.

- Spengler

May 30, 2008 at 4:00pm

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Once again femnists rushing to throw black people under a bus for their own racist and sexist agenda just like Susan B. Anthony. HRC tried to discredit Obama, a black man, by joining in the republican attack on his pastor to tar the 8,000 member congregation and the Black Church in general since Obama had been a congregant. She tried to sway the SDs with the unelectability argument because he can't win the white vote. But everyone knows shes not racist! Black people know. You use race to further yourself, you are a racist. You want to elect a woman because you want to see a woman elected, you are sexist. All these HRC supporters blackmailing the DNC with their 17 million votes because Obama cant win without us! How does HRC win without the black vote? I'm not joining your whos been oppressed most debate. I just want to know, since Ive yet to here an HRC supporter address the black reaction to an HRC nomination, If 17 million HRC supporters is such a potent force how does she win without the black vote? After you've thrown us under the bus AGAIN!? YOU are going to destroy the party in a fit a pique if you don't get YOUR way? But if you do get your way how will WE react. (here's a clue: the Rs fought civil rights, 85%+ blacks have voted D for half a century since.)

- Lewdan

May 30, 2008 at 4:03pm

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Any Hillary supporters EVER wonder why more than half of Democrats DIDN'T WANT HILLARY? We must all be stupid of course. Or sexist. Or elitist. Or media dimwits. Why couldn't Hillary "close the deal" in her own party? Must be 'cause we stole it from her. We wanted a black guy named Obama at the head of the ticket. He was obviously sooo much stronger, especially a year ago! Maybe because we're tired of Bushies and Clintons...tired of both camps. Who is next? Jeb? Chelsea? Ain't nobody in this country capable of being President other than a Clinton or a Bush? Are we Argentina? India? Sri Lanka? The sense of Clinton entitlement is pathetic. ITS BECAUSE SHE VOTED FOR THE WAR AND REFUSED, IN TYPICAL CLINTON FASHION, TO ADMIT A MISTAKE. Nope. She was gonna parse it - not this time. Not now.

- scarang

May 30, 2008 at 4:05pm

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Don't agree with the title -- should read "the Edith Bunker of a broken house". Portraying this woman as "formidable" or "powerful" is ridiculous. Her greatest (only?) success has been conspiring behind closed doors with failed dem presidential nominees (aka LIBERAL LOSERS) and their minions to pave an open road for our multi-racial Dukakis. I'm dying to see how she will congratulate McCain in November.

- nice artwork

May 30, 2008 at 4:10pm

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It is interesting Obama supporters who fawn over Pelosi like she is an icon of womens achievment. She is so transparent in her power trip. I find her vile in her attempt to control outcomes. Maybe others in her life have let her believe she has the last word but 1/2 of the Democratic voters will not. Any nastiness directed at Pelosi she has earned on her own due to her hypocritcal and poor leadership skills.

- Dean

May 30, 2008 at 4:14pm

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I agree wholeheartedly with your statements. I, too, have been a democrat for over 30 years. This election has opened my eyes to the Democratic Party. The measures the Democratic Party leaders went to see that Hillary Clinton failed. The sexism that exists. It sickened me.

- jomira

May 30, 2008 at 4:22pm

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The moment Nancy Pelosi had my attention was when she vocally acknowledged Hillary Clinton singing the praises of John McCain for what it was. I had been so stunned by Clinton doing that, so angry that she would place her candidacy over the party, that Nancy Pelosi's comments were music to my ears. I have never looked at Clinton the same.

- Love Arugula

May 30, 2008 at 4:23pm

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Perhaps SabaTia you are the "racist scum" not very sober of you to call 1/2 of the Democratic party names. Your post will be discounted and in the ,consider the source category, from now to eternity.

- Denny

May 30, 2008 at 4:27pm

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Your comment about Hillary supporters exactly describes you.

- jomira

May 30, 2008 at 4:28pm

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Men bond, but women are such haters. What Hillary Clinton has tapped into and exposed about herself and many females is their weaknesses: vindictive, unforgiving, jealous, anger, bitterness and "tit for tat". These are NOT Godly traits and I know that many women love the Lord. If so, why is it that our conduct, thoughts and actions do not reflect that?

- Ocala

May 30, 2008 at 4:30pm

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Nancy Pelosi is tough and doing a great job. Hillary crossed the line when she said McCain would be a better president than Obama. Just because Pelosi called her out for her Rovian tactics is not a reason to bash her.

- KQuark

May 30, 2008 at 4:31pm

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Still others suspect the speaker has calculated that she'd have more influence under President Obama than President Clinton--partly because Obama has more limited Washington experience than Hillary and partly because, as the Hillary adviser snarks, under Clinton, Pelosi would lose the advantages that attend being "the most senior skirt in the land." What's this? and they tried to accuse others of sexism.

- okmama

May 30, 2008 at 4:47pm

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Huh? Wondering: Where were the examples of her successes when it was tough-like when she was in minority? Badass, balls or cojones, whatever, how does one earn that when she has the majority of votes? So she stifles Columbian trade deal-she broke rules to do it-but here are no consequences to her behavior. Any information on how she's herding the blue dogs? I might give Michelle the Hillary/Presidential thing-except her moves came after SuperTuesday. Where was the risk in being tough, then, when all (not some) but all observers knew that Obama couldn't be caught? You would expect her to have a much better-maybe one of the best ideas-where the superdelegates are headed (so, maybe, her balls her are non-existent). Nice family stories-makes you hate machine politics-unless you were reliable vote, or on the right side of her mom-you were dirt! She failed on her most pointed plan-to stop the funding of the war. On this, where were the balls? Where was the intelligence? Come on, she got slaughtered. Good lessons on how to curry favor anywhere-meet, greet, send notes, etc. Nice. Truth is, she also lied to us all. She said she'd change the worst of what the Repubs did during their majority (tricks, I might add, that the Dems perfected over decades of control). And what did she actually change-nothing-so who cares about her, she's just like the rest of them. I'm not arguing she should have changed those behaviors, just that she said she would and didn't. The telecomm bill is another issue-she's disgusting in her hard core left politics. Those who study surveilance understand that there was no risk to American citizens of improper searches and seizures. Good Americans stood up and helped the government attempt to intercept "foreign" communications which flowed through wires on our soil. And for political points, or balls, or the vast stupidity that she's known for, she wants to make a point. Funny thing-the reason she did-the votes were there in the House and in the Senate. So, for all of you lugheads who want to count the votes and let the people have their say--Florida in 2000 (but not Florida or Michigan in 2008, eh, how can you support the party disenfranchising the people for what their elected officials did????).....you're proud of Nancy not letting the people have their say and counting the votes. Hypocrites.

- Sven

May 30, 2008 at 4:50pm

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Great take on a woman who refuses to be taken advantage of due to her gender unlike Hillary Clinton who only turned to to women's groups when she was losing. THAT was a true nod to her ability to play old style politics. Shame that so many women are stupid enough to fall into it. As a woman myself? I am ashamed of those in this country who would support someone based only on their gender. Hillary Clinton is a known liar and that alone is enough for me to want her out of public service. While some politicans may stretch the trugh Hillary Clinton flat out lies. That is not acceptable in a President unless your a Bush supporter.

- Deanna Grissom

May 30, 2008 at 4:55pm

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Had so say something about your comment. clinton has not always been or worked for the democrats, she was a republican before she was a dem.

- lvdragonlady

May 30, 2008 at 5:13pm

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God I hope someone in California runs against her in the next election. Either a Democrat in a Primary or a Republican in the election. Anything to get her snotty ass out of power.

- Harley

May 30, 2008 at 5:31pm

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Uhh, how come when people diss Hillary it is sexism but when Hillaristas diss Pelosi it isn't? How did Hillary Clinton become the veritable Goddess of Femininity to the point where to dislike her and reject her becomes blasphemy?

- roidubouloi

May 30, 2008 at 5:34pm

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I agree with you and I am a feminist and 70 years old. She wanted a long campaign and she got her wish. And so she has had 3 full months to show the world what she is really like. As a woman I hope she has not furthered mysoginy with her behavior. And people were turned off 4 years ago by John Dean's tirade in Iowa.

- Silvia N Pena

May 30, 2008 at 5:34pm

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I was glad when Nancy Pelosi broke a glass ceiling by being elected Speaker of the House. However, I am now mortified by her performance in that position. She has achieved little, and now attempts to manipulate the election process to give the nomination to Obama. She has no business doing this. Why can't she just let the process play out until Tuesday, when the primaries are over? It just sickens me. All in all, I think she's cooked her own goose. She's an ineffective leader; she's backing Obama, who will lose in November; she'll be toast in her next election. Good riddance!

- eebaltimore

May 30, 2008 at 5:34pm

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Choice tidbits this week from Nancy "Don't question my patriotism" Pelosi: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=5&entry_id=26858%22 Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an interview (audio only) with the San Francisco Chronicle, offers a curious explanation for recent American success in Iraq: The purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn't happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn't accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians--they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities--the Iranians.

- JWL2672

May 30, 2008 at 5:35pm

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I read another article about Pelosi a while back which seemed to give a reason for Pelosi's lack of enthusiasm for the Clintons as stemming from the whole Lewinsky scandal/impeachment fiasco. Its author opined that Pelosi's sense of decorum for the office of the presidency had been offended and she has not forgiven the Clintons for it. I don't know whether the author really knew what s/he was talking about, but it gives additional information to this article. Jealousy, power-mongering, whatever are not pretty, but I can't fault someone for a personal sense of moral outrage. Personally, I can't articulate why I like Nancy Pelosi, but I do and I hope she remains speaker for a long time.

- Sarah

May 30, 2008 at 5:41pm

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I adore Nancy Pelosi especially when she said that this will not go any further meaning all the way to the convention. It was a religious moment for me. ^.~

- Warrior Lemming

May 30, 2008 at 5:52pm

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Does anyone else wonder whether Nancy backed down from impeachment out of deference for Hillary? If Bush and Cheney had been impeached, then Nancy would have become the first woman President. Was she pressured by the Clintons, the DLC, big donors, etc.? Did she think she was putting the good of the Party and ultimately the nation by trying to ensure a Dem victory on '08? And just how deep was her sense of betrayal when Hillary supported a Republican over a fellow Democrat, who by the numbers was already looking like the presumptive nominee?

- Christie

May 30, 2008 at 5:55pm

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Maybe she just wants a winnable ticket!

- mona lisa

May 30, 2008 at 6:03pm

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Out of a six page article and 88 comments one goes to the heart of the issue. It has been noted by some that politics is a lot like sausage making, you really don't want to see how it's done. I'm a left Democratic Party of Oregon activist and an advocate of the 2nd Amendment and I've had successes. I understand how to work with people and I understand that the polical process is not only about getting what you want, it is also about not making unnecessary enemies and dealing real serious blows to the ones you have to have. Watching Pelosi reminds me of art in action, it is art if you understand how it works. Sometimes you have to understand that you cannot get something and therefore have to minimize the damage and maximize the future advantage. It is not short term thinking. If Hillary has been undone by any single personal characteristic it is her short term thinking. Hillary is not a pro and she has not faced electoral payment for her actions previously - she has been covered by her last name. Those of you who think Baltimore machine politics carry weight in California are engaging in wishful thinking. The lessons may have, but the power structure? If some of you think that this campaign is the end for women and punishing the Democratic Party is a solution, you are matching your candidate's thinking and wrecking things for yourselves in search of a "right now" solution that drags women backward when it fails.

- Chuck Butcher

May 30, 2008 at 6:29pm

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great article , speaker pelosi is an excellent role model for women

- pam,s.c.

May 30, 2008 at 6:29pm

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Nancy P. backed down for impeachment because she is a female player and in the end goes along with the sterotype of women letting the men have the final say so. She is the type of women that laughs too hard at mens jokes and snubs any women she sees as a threat.

- Donald

May 30, 2008 at 6:37pm

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How does sexism look and feel Obama supporters? You all have been living in denial. Now through Pelosi's well earned diss you can get a glimpse of what Hillary has put up with. Enjoy what you have unleased.

- Susan B

May 30, 2008 at 6:45pm

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Saying you will do something is not synonymous with doing it. Is this the same Nancy Pelosi who so fiercely opposed the war heading into the 2006 elections? Setting aside that she has no authority to force Hillary out, one can only hope she is at least more serious in this endeavor than she was in ending the war in Iraq!

- gmundenat

May 30, 2008 at 6:50pm

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The Speaker's transparent bias against Hillary Clinton from the outset of this entire presidential primary, culminating in her most recent remarks (that if Clinton is not off the playing field by June 3, Pelosi will “step in” and end it for her), have persuaded me that 1. Clinton should take her argument to the convention floor on August 25 and 2. The Speaker has lost my vote for good. Not that she cares, mind you—I live in her District, and she has never once responded to or acknowledged receipt of one of my letters.

- Stephen Gianelli

May 30, 2008 at 7:25pm

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When all is said and done, history may sadly remember Pelosi as the person who stood between Bush/Cheney and impeachment. Political expediency shouldn't be permitted to stand above the principals embodied in the Consitution.

- Ron

May 30, 2008 at 7:54pm

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In a recent conversation with a young woman, I told her it was my view that Hillary Clinton was not a good female role model. Instead it is Nancy Pelosi. My view is that Nancy had earned her way. No husbands coat tails for her. She has intellect and integrity. To me she is the true feminist, which means, on the playing field, her gender is unimportant. I doubt that I will agree with everything she does. But, I like that she is not a whiner.

- James of Indiana

May 30, 2008 at 7:59pm

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i am disgusted with some of the women posting negative remarks here about hillary. alot of you are bad mouthing hillary, and saying she has said so many mean devisive comments. where the hell have you been? if you at any time spent one hour on an obama site, you would literally, feel like throwing up... the way his believers talk about hillary, is mindblowing. always calling her a c***, a w****, a s***, a b**** and p****. they talk about f****** her with a pitchfork, broom, a gun, a dog, a knife, from behind, tied up, with a c*** stuffed in her mouth, strangled with a rope, stuffing her face in s***, making her drink p**... please, i could tell you so much more, but i am already depressed. than you listen to the girls, and they call her b****, s***, w****,c***, ect ect ect... and the really PATHETIC WOMEN, bring up that her husband was unfaithful to her, NA NA NA NA NA NA... like some nasty, gossipy, old ladies. ladies, i am quite sure your husbands have taken every opportunity to find comfort in the arms of someone not so jealous and mean as yourselves. but back on point... DONT TALK TO THE HILLARY SUPPORTERS AS IF WE ARE CRY BABIES. we are the ones that know whats going on, we are the ones playing with a full deck, and we are the ones calling a spade a spade... AND PELOSI; SHE'S A SPADE....

-

May 30, 2008 at 8:02pm

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I have lost all respect in Nancy Pelosi. She is a perfect example of a woman who herself could never garner the votes to be a nominee, much less the President, and she resents the fact that Hillary is so much more talented than she is. Pelosi is two-faced (stating "I'm remaining neutral" then making other statements that make it clear she is brainwashed by Obama) and has lost what little political clout she's ever had through her disgraceful actions over the past few months. It may be that Ms. Pelosi would be perfectly happy, as Barack Obama is, to sit in a racinst anti-american church for 20 years, but I assure you the rest of us are not that stupid. Obama has no chance of winning the election...he can't even win over the majority of democratic voters. It is time to get real.

- Shirley

May 30, 2008 at 8:12pm

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NANCY SAID SHE WOULD NOT GIVE HER VOTE TO ANYONE, BECAUSE SHE WAS HEAD OF THE CONVENTION. SHE LIED. SHE SHOWED SHE WAS BACKING OBAMA. AND BY THE WAY, OBAMA DOESN'T HAVE THE EXPERIENCE TO BE COMMANDER IN CHIEF AND IF SHE CAN'T SEE THAT(ONE YEAR IN THE US SENATE), THEN I THINK SHE IS A VERY STUPID WOMENT.

- VINCIE

May 30, 2008 at 8:15pm

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SCARANGELLO, your comments about hillary, smack of jealousy, envy and bitterness. you say you are italian and you know pelosi did it on her own without a man, and you ask the question, 'does anyone think hillary had the credentials to do it on her own?'. what kind of peer to peer envy and hate is that..? this is not old world italy, and we have a different philosophy here, we believe in equality. lets pit hillary clintons credentials against your italian pedigree... what was your pedigree by the way? here you: 'she didnt do it herself how dare she?' heres me: 'HEY GREAT! I LOVE TO SEE A WOMAN GET AHEAD IN THIS WORLD...' you and nancy need to get your noses out of the air. and let me tell you something, i am from san francisco, and ms. pelosi, would never get out of her designer suits, to go muck around with the 'nobodys', unless it was for a photo op... TRUST ME...

- skmf

May 30, 2008 at 8:18pm

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Such a venomous, biased article. I am not an American, but I can see that Nancy Pelosi is simply being fair in her view that superdelegates should not overturn the decision of the pledged delegates. It is only apparent how biased you can get. If it has been Hillary Clinton who is winning like Obama is winning the number of pledged delegates, do you think you would want Pelosi to overturn the votes of the majority? Come on, be true to yourself. Hillary does not have enough number of pledged delegates but she is saying she is the better candidate. Don't tell me she doesn't know the rule that it is not the popular vote but the electoral votes that will decide the matter. She is the better candidate? Can't she see anything else or anyone else better than herself? Wake up and let your eyes see what is obvious!

- susan

May 30, 2008 at 8:28pm

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You go girl! Nancy Pelosi has been classy--she's been the subject of horribly sexism (just read some of the posts here!), but she doesn't whine about it, doesn't play the victim. Also, I like her style of feminism, and that she doesn't take on the militaristic tough attitude to prove she can make it. Love it, and I agree with her completely about the Obama/Clinton thing.

- Beth in VA

May 30, 2008 at 8:41pm

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Magnificent. Insightful, well written. Perhaps I need to subscribe.

- sfdem

May 30, 2008 at 8:48pm

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Much criticism has been leveled at Pelosi for her failure to bring impeachment charges and to immeidately stop funding the Iraq disaster. The critics must live in a different reality than mine. Where I live in Florida, the thought of impeaching George Bush might be delightful, but the reality would be a political disaster for the Democrats. You can't lead where people won't go, and the American public will not go for Impeachment, no matter their present contempt for Bush. They also will not support a Congressionally forced immediate withdrawal from Iraq, no matter that they demand immediate withdrawal. The fact that John McCain isn't dead in the water should show that the public is more ambivalent about Iraq than the polls suggest. Pelosi, no matter how irritating she is at times--sucking up to Israel no matter what, for instance--understands poltical reality and doesn't kid herself about what is and what is not possible. I admire her for that.

- Barbara M.

May 30, 2008 at 10:42pm

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Hillary is going to the convention. mark my words the ONLY WAY TO STOP HER IS TO PRESSURE HER SUPERDELEGATES TO SUPPORT OBAMA NOW! PELOSI,REID,BIDEN,KENNEDY NEED TO SHUT HER DOWN NOW!!! if she becomes the nominee she will LOSE. That's a fact. She may think she could win but not with black voters,young voters and Obama supporters doing exactly what she TELLS HER VOTERS TO DO. VOTE MCCAIN OR DON'T VOTE AT ALL. It's a two way street.BUT SHE ENDS HER CAREER!!!!!

- hillarywatcher

May 30, 2008 at 10:45pm

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Wonderful article! A great insight into a Nancy Pelosi that I have admired but wanted to know more about. I admire greatly that she did not allow herself to be bullied by Clinton's wealthy supporters. That is exactly the kind of thing that has caused America to distrust their politicians. Hillary Clinton has a right to run, but she seems to be trying to claim her "right" to destroy the party's chances of winning the White House. I am happy and relieved that Ms. Pelosi and other democratic leaders are at long last taking action to interrupt that scenario. Hillary can make noise, but if she doesn't have the delegates, it's just noise. Obama won the Iowa primary on January 3 and since then, he has never once been behind in pledged delegates for any election day when all the delegates for a given election had been counted. One would think that if Clinton were more "electable" that she would have won more delegates at the end of a given day sometime or somewhere, but she has not. He wins some and she wins some, but at the counting end of each election day, he has been ahead in pledged delegates from valid, legal elections. I am pleased and relieved that Ms. Pelosi stands up for the rules because Mrs. Clinton surely stands up for the ones that serve her.

- karela

May 30, 2008 at 10:47pm

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This story totally overlooks the tension that has long existed to between Sen. Clinton and Speaker Pelosi. She strongly opposed MFN status for China, which Pres. Clinton touts as a legislative accomplishment. She personally asked Sen. Clinton to not attend and speak at the UN conference on women in Beijing which of course Sen. Clinton was trumpeting as part of her foreign policy bona fides --certainly a bit of salt in an old wound. These two have not been friends for a long time --but it is far more policy than political than this article suggests.

- Peter Venkman

May 30, 2008 at 10:59pm

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For all of those who say that they will no longer vote for a Democrat if Obama wins: Get over it! The reason why HRC is not going to win the nomination is not because of sexism, but because of a poorly ran campaign. She knew she was the nominee before any votes were even cast! Now that all the votes are being cast and she didn't look past Super Tuesday, its everyone else's fault but hers. Please! If this is how you so-called Hillary Democrats act (like sore losers) we don't need or want you in the party anyway! Bye Bye!! P.S. All of you talk about Speaker Pelosi coming from a Pol family but none of you have mentioned that Hillary would not be the Senator of NY if she wasn't married to Bill! Get over yourselves!

- A Proud Woman

May 30, 2008 at 11:05pm

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Bravo! Don't you just love a good cat fight?

- Kimm

May 30, 2008 at 11:10pm

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Bravo Nancy! What took you so long?

- Monty O

May 30, 2008 at 11:14pm

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The Hillary hate from the Obama crowd is only one of the reasons that he cannot be elected in November. Hillary is not racist nor scum.

- Jonathan Brostrom

May 30, 2008 at 11:55pm

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Nancy Pelosi - a legend in her own mind.

- Paul S

May 31, 2008 at 1:11am

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Jonathan, I disagree - and apparently many more voters do, too, as Obama is winning. Clinton lacks the honor, integrity and truthfulness that many of us want to see in the highest office in our country. Great article! Learned more about Nancy Pelosi - for which I am glad! I am impressed with the fact that she will not allow Clinton or her fundraisers to bully the Democratic Party! Thank you, Nancy, for your service!

- NanD

May 31, 2008 at 1:34am

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tap Nancy for VP

- from the north

May 31, 2008 at 1:46am

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Let me get this straight...Barack comes for corrupt Chicago politics and spends less than 150 days in the Senate and we should take him over Hillary Clinton who was a strong influence in an administration that brought EIGHT STRAIGHT YEARS of prosperity to this country...? People voting for Barack are on CRACK! The guy has brough NO CHANGE anywhere yet that is all he is talking about. There is no doubt that John McCain will be the next President of the United States thanks to GREEDY politician like Nancy Pelosi whose only concern is the hope of expaning the Democratic Party even at the cost of the American people.

- michael

May 31, 2008 at 2:32am

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The Pelosi animus is no mystery. Twice now, Hillary's donors have publicly threatened Pelosi: if Hillary doesn't get the nomination, we will pull our money out of the House races, and you might not even be Speaker anymore.

- HelloDollyLlama

May 31, 2008 at 6:43am

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One thing I have to say about Nancy Pelosi, you can love her or hate her - but the lady is a Democrat first, second, and to the end. What Hillary Clinton has shown is that she is ALL about Hillary first, second, and to the end. This Independent that leans to the Dems will take a Pelosi in my government any day over the politics of Clinton.....I never have to guess with Pelosi; Clinton - well, you would always be guessing.

- Mary

May 31, 2008 at 8:02am

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It saddens me to see that Pelosi opposed the idea of a revote in Michigan and Florida. It would have removed much of the bitterness and many of the toxins from this political race. But, of course, Pelosi grew up as a machine politician-didn't she? Those old-style politicians all believe that elections are there to be manipulated-don't they? IMHO, Democrats should realise that Republicans are already calling this lot the DO-NOTHING CONGRESS. Should McCaine gain the Presidency, that would lead to STALEMATE between the Whitehouse and Congress. Many Democrats will be out of a job next time round. They probably won't even win in 2012, and the next race will be in 2020. Pelosi, Dean, and others who are dreaming of a bright New Urban Party (read: cool), and a Presidential system based on the Popular Vote, should perhaps start to realise that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (read: play things straight with their Party and not take unnecessary risks). And they should perhaps FIRST TRY to reform their own Primary electoral system. (read: so both sides don't feel cheated) As for Pelosi she's definitely her Daddy's little girl. (read: spoilt).

- laurieann

May 31, 2008 at 9:06am

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" ...as the Hillary adviser snarks, under Clinton, Pelosi would lose the advantages that attend being "the most senior skirt in the land." All the women who are so outraged over the supposed sexism directed at HRC need to re-read this statement over and over again and decide who's being sexist. Obviously Hillary's campaign is willing to play the gender card when it's to their advantage.

- Dody

May 31, 2008 at 10:25am

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When this woman (Pelosi) wakes up to the 'real' extent of here power she will remain depressed for a long time. (Particularly when Hillary points it out to her.) May-be just one more cosmetic surgery NAN!!!

- doctor sam

May 31, 2008 at 11:10am

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Perhaps the biggest difference between Pelosi and Clinton is that Nancy Pelosi has class. She took her defeats like an adult, learned from her mistakes and moved forward. Unlike Clinton who as screamed sexism and has blamed everyone else.

- Kam

May 31, 2008 at 11:42am

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A great essay on "Obstruction as a Fine Art" but Pelosi 's tactics have damaged this country's ability to protect itself from terrorists (eg, denial of immunity to telecoms), and has created a crisis in energy the likes of which we haven't experienced in the last 100 years & will take 50 years to remedy.

- J J Everyman

May 31, 2008 at 11:48am

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Am I the only one left who admires Pelosi and Clinton? Senator Clinton is not going to win the nomination, so can we all stop trashing her now? A good thing to think about is the number 92. That's how old John Paul Stevens will be before the end of the next president's first term. Another good number to think about: 5. That's how many SCOTUS Justices will be prepared to overturn Roe if McCain is elected.

- The Last Democrat

May 31, 2008 at 12:24pm

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Clinton is just like Bush in that they place loyalty over competence.

Obama is not competent to be the president.

- Old brower

May 31, 2008 at 1:12pm

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Sabatia, go stuff yourself.

- Jenny

May 31, 2008 at 3:44pm

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Whatever. The failure to impeach Bush and Cheney is a very serious error for the future of the US.

- oxheadone

May 31, 2008 at 9:34pm

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I have posted this comment in another blog but i wish to repeat it here.... This year is not about a woman president or an african american president or a war hero president... it is about who is best to lead our nation into the new age.... I posted on the thread where Obama stated that he would review all of Bush's Executive Orders in his first 100 days.... Here is the link.. and here is what I said... http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/05/28/bushs-laws-will-be-scrutinized-if-i-become-president-obama-says/ Wow… did it take me a long time to read through all of these posts… I have a few things that I would like to add. First… for those of you who say that Obama has no record, I direct you to this site. This woman has done a marvelous job in researching the two democratic candidates work in the US Senate: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/20/ 201332/807 Executive orders and legislation have been fully explained as the terminology of being a professor or not. Though it is refreshing to find a candidate that so boldly states that we’ve been duped for the last 8 years and probably further back than that. Second… Those of us that support Obama must do our best to ensure that the Swiftboating tactics don’t work this time.. and they will be out in force. He is a man of strong beliefs and ethics and, IMO.. to keep bringing up his church, which he has now left… (some will say for political expediency.. but I truly believe that it was a heart wrenching decision for him and his family. I still get people coming to me saying that he is muslim..that he sat in a Black Liberation Theology Christian Church for 20 years…. fear tactics) I believe that we have a more informed electorate this year… I believe that we are smarter than the Rovian tacticians take us for… Regarding the voting for funding of the Iraq war… Obama put it pretty simply… once you have driven the bus over the cliff, you can’t do much less. To vote to stop funding the war would not have brought our troops home.. it would have just given them nothing to fight with but stone knives and bearskins.. and, unlike McCain.. he holds our military service men and women in the highest regard. Education… Obama is the only candidate that I have heard who supports a broad education for our children and who recognizes the important role that teachers and parents play in our children’s future. He wants to level the playing field and put more emphasis on overall education rather than teaching to the tests… He states that we, as parents, are also responsible for the education of our children…. Unfortunately, we have a generation of Bush/Clinton years that are now raising our kids…. and the College/University kids now see that there was a lot wrong with that.. so, I guess we didn’t do too badly, but we let a lot of people down…. Foreign Policy… I find it absurd that Obama is chided by McCain about visiting Iraq.. and that he has not spoken to General P face to face… even though he is running for President, as a junior senator, it is not his place to jump the Chain of Command and go talk to the Commander in Iraq face to face… the military is not to be used as a political tool… the military serves and protects the constitution of the USA and they are under the POTUS…. for Obama to talk to General P directly would undermine good order and discipline. In regards to talking to our “enemies” without preconditions… I find it absurd that it has been spun into inviting someone to tea… Let me make it clear what I think preconditions means… A precondition is something that must be achieved before you even consider talking to somebody. I.E. My neighbor has a dog that howls all night.. and until he kills or gets rid of that dog, I am not gonna talk to him about his dog that howls all night… Precondition is different than condition…. I.E I have a problem with your dog because it howls all night.. can we talk about it? Does it need better dog food? More attention? Let’s see what we can do in order for me to sleep at night. I digress, and I am sorry… I feel very strongly about Barack Obama..like many of you, this is the first time that I have been energized by a candidate since I was 18 years old and campaigning for George McGovern… I am a half Japanese/Caucasian and I am a 52 year old woman..Barack Obama has brought me back to that time I was 18…. He is a once in a lifetime candidate who deserves all of our support as he unites our fractured nation…. Thanks for listening to my rants.. I will step off my soapbox now…

- Show Me

May 31, 2008 at 11:10pm

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You write like a wrestling fan.

- Jonathan Brostrom

June 1, 2008 at 2:11am

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Um, JWL @ 93 above: Do you have a more accurate description of those factors in Iraq to offer us? I'm guessing it would be from some sort of alternate reality because last I read: (1) there had not yet been any meaningful progress toward any of the political compromises the surge was supposed to create space for the Iraqi leadership to exploit, (2) the fighting in Basra was stopped only when other Shiite politicians with Iranian brokering did an end-run around Maliki. Do you have something other to add?

- MJMCKAY

June 1, 2008 at 3:47am

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I love NancyP. She would be a THOUSAND times better a PRez than Billary. She'll vote Obama come June 4th; you'll see. Love her.

- RobK

June 1, 2008 at 5:52am

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Thanks for a great article. I'm glad Nancy Pelosi is speaking up - as a woman I am mentally fatigued and annoyed with the patter from the Clinton camp and the edicts. I think Clinton picks and chooses to her advantage when she wants to take advantage of being female versus bleat about sexism. I've had to put up with Clinton supporters yammering that women are innately superior to men and it's our turn to be president. Abu Graib's female torturers certainly demonstrated the depths that women can also fall. Any candidate has to earn it and should never be selected on the basis of gender.

- McGreen

June 1, 2008 at 1:10pm

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Cindy Sheehan is runing against Nancy. You can help by sending her a contribution. She has a web site.

- Annie Welch

June 1, 2008 at 7:13pm

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Hillary has VOTERS, remember that Nancy, and remember the way your State voted. Follow your own advice tomorrow (June 4), and vote like the pledged delegates. PLEASE keep to your word. THX

- Laurie

June 3, 2008 at 5:06am

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While I agree that Speaker Pelosi has asserted herself in the 110th Congress, I reject the idea that she has performed well in her position. After numerous "strike the last word" speeches by the Republicans during the Appropriations debacle last summer, the D.C. right to vote motion to recommit, the failure of the supplemental vote due to the Out of Iraq caucus, the numerous nonbinding votes on withdrawing troops from Iraq with all the new Blue Dog Dems, I could go on... Speaker Pelosi reminds me a lot more of Mr. Magoo then Mr. Rayburn.

- Gregjtmarlin

July 1, 2008 at 9:47am

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