The New York Times has an article on Nancy Pelosi this morning that says both Democrats and Republicans are delighted with the prospect of "Speaker Pelosi". For very different reasons, of course.
"She ought to be a big component of the fall campaign," said Ed Rogers, a Republican strategist and lobbyist. "There are some Democrats who make really good bad guys."
Ms. Pelosi, the California Democrat and House minority leader, lends herself to easy caricature by Republicans. She is an unapologetic liberal, with a voting record to match (the Republican National Committee chairman, Ken Mehlman, said she was neither a "New Democrat" nor an "Old Democrat" but a "prehistoric Democrat"). She is wealthy (married to an investment banker, she has assets listed at more than $16 million). She represents San Francisco, which Republicans love to invoke as a hotbed of counterculture decadence and extremism.
"Is America ready for Nancy Pelosi's Contract With San Francisco?" asked Representative Ric Keller, Republican of Florida, posing a question that, one imagines, could form the basis of many Republican advertisements this fall.
Democrats may have some reservations about Ms. Pelosi, but they are largely loyal, seeing her as an earnest champion of the party's beliefs and as an effective leader.
The Times does mention her having a bit of a problem with how she presents herself and how she has appeared to be counting chickens a bit to early. Overall, the piece is definitely carrying water for Pelosi, trying to make he look less threatening and praising her political skill.
Me, I'm not so sure about that skill. I think she is highly effective at keeping her party in line, but somewhat less effective at appealing across party lines. She also has a tin ear. She is still trying to use the culture of corruption meme, which I really think is an appallingly bad idea given the antics of Representative Jefferson and others. She also says in the interview that Tom DeLay is a friend of hers that she worked well with but that he's "corrupt". She doesn't appear to even notice exactly how that sounds.
Well, it'll be interesting for the next five months or so, that's for sure.
