From San Francisco Chronicle: Pelosi's new life: politics under the microscope.
House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi received a rude reminder this past week that every move she makes will now be scrutinized, analyzed and ripped apart for meaning.Her Democratic colleagues' rejection of her choice for majority leader made news around the globe, reinforcing the notion that what had been fodder for Capitol Hill newspapers when Democrats were in the minority, has become international news now that they are in the majority.
"She's learning exactly what Newt Gingrich learned 12 years ago,'' said Jack Pitney, a professor of political science at Claremont McKenna College outside Los Angeles and the author of several books on Congress. "Suddenly she's facing an entirely new level of scrutiny, and mistakes that would have gotten little public attention are suddenly magnified.''
Many explanations have been offered for Pelosi's awkward introduction as a speaker-to-be, from her single-minded devotion to personal alliances to her determination that ending the war in Iraq be the new majority's No. 1 priority. Some Pelosi supporters even suggest that she "won by losing,'' establishing her credentials as a loyalist willing to suffer defeat in order to stand by an ally.
Whatever the truest explanation, the nation learned much this week about the San Francisco woman who is to become the House's 52nd speaker on Jan. 3.
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Posted by Forkum at November 20, 2006 08:22 PM
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