The Rise And (Prat)Fall Of Nancy Pelosi
I warned that the media was sending a serious warning to the Democratic leadership in Congress that they were rapidly running out of media cover. All the signs were there when two major newspapers published editorials critical of the way the supplemental spending bill was being handled. Nancy Pelosi refused to pay attention to the warning signs, however. And today the Washington Post unleashed a broadside at her over her "pratfall in Damascus" – their exact words.
HOUSE SPEAKER Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration yesterday of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad. After a meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Ms. Pelosi announced that she had delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that "Israel was ready to engage in peace talks" with Syria. What's more, she added, Mr. Assad was ready to "resume the peace process" as well. Having announced this seeming diplomatic breakthrough, Ms. Pelosi suggested that her Kissingerian shuttle diplomacy was just getting started. "We expressed our interest in using our good offices in promoting peace between Israel and Syria," she said.
Only one problem: The Israeli prime minister entrusted Ms. Pelosi with no such message. "What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel," said a statement quickly issued by the prime minister's office. In fact, Mr. Olmert told Ms. Pelosi that "a number of Senate and House members who recently visited Damascus received the impression that despite the declarations of Bashar Assad, there is no change in the position of his country regarding a possible peace process with Israel." In other words, Ms. Pelosi not only misrepresented Israel's position but was virtually alone in failing to discern that Mr. Assad's words were mere propaganda.
This kind of slam is not usually directed at Democrats these days by the major media. But while the media may be overwhelmingly in favor of Democrats, they appear to be more in favor of the more centrist politicians, not the left wing extremists. And Pelosi and company no longer have cover. They are about to find that out, I suspect. This latest, extremely badly thought out and executed trip has likely undone most, if not all, of Pelosi's positive press in the near term. Incidentally, the quoted section of the editorial is the mild part. It actually becomes much more harsh.
Politics, World news | Gaius April 5, 2007
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Wake up America-Surrender is NOT an Option — April 5, 2007 @ 12:02 pm
By TC@LeatherPenguin, April 5, 2007 @ 6:45 am
I think the breaking point for a lot of the MSM people was when she doled out all that pork just to get the bare minimum of 208 votes to pass that ridiculous bill. They realized her own caucus wasn’t fully behind her, and her “leadership” of the House was pretty much based on bribery. Then she refused to allow the House to vote on a measure condemning the Iranian’s taking of the Brits–as the Seante had already done–claiming it wasn’t appropriate for the House to be meddling in such diplomatic matters… and immediately boarded a jet to the Middle East to promote her own brand of foreign policy, and managed to bungle that *big time* by screwing up the Israeli “message” to Boy Assad.
By daveinboca, April 5, 2007 @ 12:25 pm
Nancy Pelosi is a conniving idiot without brains, but with a lot of Italian chutzpah. Stick-insect boy-Assad is a liar and a murderer of Rafiq Hariri of Lebanon.
Plus the dodo from the City on the Bay misrepresents Israel’s position. But no one except delusional agitpreppies take her seriously.
The Democrats are incapable of running a foreign policy and should be kept from the Oval Office. Jimmy Carter is the biggest proof of this, but Clinton ain’t far behind, as Sandy Berger tried to cover up with his botched document destruction. Clinton has a lot to hide.