MyDD :: Times swings a hatchet into 'Speaker Pelosi'

Times swings a hatchet into 'Speaker Pelosi'

by skeptic06, Tue May 30, 2006 at 06:31:56 PM EST

Surprised today's piece hasn't been highlighted before here - perhaps that's because it was scribed not by one of the usual suspects, but by Mark Leibovich (though he'll be on the u/s list ere long if he carries on like this!).

The hed Talk of Pelosi as Speaker Delights Both Parties identifies the tone: not quite as riotous as a Milbank funny, but heading out in that direction.

The GOP jokesters are par for the course. On the Dem side, we have Barney Frank:

"Her public speaking style is not good," said Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts.

She is more animated and assured in private meetings, said Mr. Frank, who counts himself a big admirer.

With admirers like that...

Pelosi's ghastly MtP performance of a few weeks ago naturally gets a mention. And, it seems, she gave Leibovich two interviews in which she did not impress.

(The crack about curly fries is worthy of Wilgoren in top Kerry-baiting form. There are also gags about chocolates and pistachio nuts.

And face-lifts:

"I hear them say on TV that I've had face-lifts," said Ms. Pelosi, 66, who added that she had never had one. "I heard one woman say I've had a face-lift, but it looks terrible."

She shook her head and said, "Did you ever think that those two things cancel themselves out?"

Sigh.)

The piece has a nugget on Tom DeLay:

Ms. Pelosi nodded vigorously when asked if she was friends with Representative Tom DeLay, whom she had just seconds earlier described as "corrupt." She went on to catalog the work the two had done together in Congress. And then Ms. Pelosi affirmed, once again, how "corrupt" her friend Mr. DeLay was.

And, on the speakership of the 110th,

that she would expect to run unopposed.

Though Barney F has a backhanded warning for her:

The Republicans' extremism is the sine qua non of our unity.

Which kind of reads, When the Dems take over Congress, all bets are off.

Thanks, Barney.

Update [2006-5-30 19:29:29 by skeptic06]:

Wonkette (not the real one) has a piece quoting an emailer:

I saw this vaguely familiar person who looked like a cross between the Joker and my Congresswoman, followed closely by an assistant. I quickly realized that Nancy had recently had a rather severe face lift.

Ethics, shmethics. Looks like what Nancy really has to worry about from now till November is the has she or hasn't she? question!

(Still, at least she can comfort herself with the thought that, however bad her writeups in the Times might be, they're nothing like so poisonous as what they say about her over at Kos!)

[Is the Wonkette emailer kosher? Or a GOP production?

Back in 04, there was a good deal of talk that the Killian memos were a Rove trick to snafu CBS. [The CW was that it wasn't, which I suspect, in this case, was right.]

And some guy wrote to the effect that, Could you imagine Bob Shrum (or whoever it might be on the Kerry team) attempting a trick like that? And no one could.

What about Nancy? Or Harry? Or Howard? Have they got guys who are up to a Killian memo trick? Or even phony emails from concerned voters.

And if they haven't, why not?]

Tags: Pelosi, House 2006, Speakership, New York Times, Mark Leibovich, Barney Frank, Tom DeLay (all tags)

Permalink :: 11 Comments :: Post a Comment

Re: Times swings a hatchet into 'Speaker Pelosi' (none / 0)

It was a hatchet piece yes, but not far off base. Pelosi is a terrible public speaker. However, I think Rahm is going to go after her title.

by dayspring on Tue May 30, 2006 at 08:32:28 PM EST

Re: Times swings a hatchet into 'Speaker Pelosi' (none / 0)

Most people don't even know who the Speaker of the House is. It is too bad she is not good on camera but her real job is to hold the caucus together and pass legislation assuming we win the majority. The article notes that party unity under Pelosi is the best for Dems since 1956. This is impressive and what is important.

by John Mills on Tue May 30, 2006 at 11:15:41 PM EST

Re: Times swings a hatchet into 'Speaker Pelosi' (none / 0)

Agreed that party unity under her has been excellent. That being said, can someone please block off some quality time for her and public speaking coach already? Geeze.

by Quinton on Wed May 31, 2006 at 03:17:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Times swings a hatchet into 'Speaker Pelosi' (none / 0)

Yeah, they united real well to disassociate themselves from the censure resolution Feingold proposed. They united real well to back off from Murtha.

As the face of democrats on national tv, and as someone who did not do anything to bail out Howard Dean because of something superficial as a loud exuberant yell, karma is paying her back. Now she is being targeted.

Her daughter made comments about Howard Dean being a weird or strange man. I doubt she made those comments just based on the footage she shot for HBO. She must have heard some comments at the dinner table when visiting mom.

And damn, if she didn't have some kind of work done on her face, she must be a freak of nature. That is one fake looking face.

by Pravin on Wed May 31, 2006 at 03:50:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Appearances are important (none / 0)

IN a democracy where most communication with followers is done in large gatherings or in front of a large tv audience, it is important to improve your communication skills in public. If you don't have it, become a behind the scenes leader instead of hurting your party with your sloppy slow footed responses on tv. It's not just the style we are talking about. Frequently, she looks flustered giving out the image of a dim witted democratic softie.

Now there are exceptions. If you are a candidate who has some special skills or leadership qualities, I will give you a pass on the communication skills. They will make up for it with some dynamic ideas and some gutsy stands that will inspire people through actions if not words.

by Pravin on Wed May 31, 2006 at 03:55:07 AM EST

Re: Appearances are important (none / 0)

How good is Dennis Hastert on TV? How good is/was Delay? Being an effective Speaker really has very little to do with public appearances.

By the time the 2006 elections are over the public focus is going to be on: (1) The presidential primaries, which will ultimately produce the face of the Democratic party going forward; and (2) what a Dem controlled House/Senate (hopefully both) can do legislatively once they assume power. In that context, I'll take an effective cat herder (the real job of the speaker) over an effective talking head any day of the week.

by HSTruman on Wed May 31, 2006 at 11:54:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Appearances are important (none / 0)

I did say that someone who can make a big difference behind the scenes will compensate for the lack of public speaking skills. I don't think Pelosi is that great though I will give her some credit that I denied her in the past. Like it or not, the speaker is the face of the party. When she goes on TV looking flustered, she hurts the causes she fronts and the image of the party. She does not have to be a speaker. She can be a behind the scenes player. She had no business going on TV as the representative of the Dem party giving a rebuttal to whatever Bush speech that she followed. She missed several opportunities to communicate to the American public why Bush's policies were a disaster.

Katherine Harris is a lot easier to marginalize because of her ghastly appearance compared to a guy like Cheney who projects gravitas. It goes both ways. The big difference between Bill and HIllary is the charm Bill had.

If you want to look at substance, then are you telling me Pelosi is the best candidate out there among 50 million or more adult democrats(who knows what the exact number is)? I am sure you can find someone without connections who has better ideas , more quick on his/her feet when asked to articulate questions, but lacked Pelosi's political connections as a second generation politician or influence as a millionaire. Let us not pretend that Pelosi is here on pure merit because there are a lot of people who have the skills but lack he good fortune Pelosi was born into. Life is not fair and part of that is your public appearance. I would support Pelosi more if the media was twisting her words or taking a gesture out of context. But she seems pretty bad on more than a few occasions on TV. It's not just a bad moment here or there.

By the way, I saw Delay on TV and he projects more confidence than Pelosi.

by Pravin on Wed May 31, 2006 at 02:02:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Appearances are important (none / 0)

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. In a perfect world Pelosi would be better on TV, but no one has a perfect skill set. My point was/is only that I think Pelosi clearly DOES possess an a least above average ability to build coalitions and enforce unity in the caucus, and that frankly I think that's a MUCH more important skill for Democrats than having a great talking head in the position.

As far as your "merit" argument against Pelosi goes, I'm not sure I follow your point. Everyone's achievements occur within a context I suppose, but I don't understand how Pelosi's wealth, family lineage, etc. somehow makes her current status as the first female minority leader of the US House any less impressive or detracts from her skills as a caucus manager. To do anything in politics you need connections, skill, and some good fortune. I would argue that's true of every single member...

by HSTruman on Wed May 31, 2006 at 02:46:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Appearances are important (none / 0)

"To do anything in politics you need connections, skill, and some good fortune. "

I agree with that. My point is aimed at those who say it is unfair to criticize her for her poor public appearances. Well a lot of things are unfair and I pointed out the good connections part. People act like soe of the leaders we elect are there by pure merit and that there is no one out there that can replace them on merit alone. Charisma or communication skills or both are important too. Whatever good things Pelosi did behind the scenes were undone with her disastrous appearances on tv. She is one of the many reasons why Bush continued to get a pass for his disasters for so many years because dems failed to come up with or back a leader who could forcefully counter Bush in a decisive manner.

by Pravin on Wed May 31, 2006 at 03:28:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Appearances are important (none / 0)

Well, I think you put a bit more stock in how good she is or isn't on MTP (other than people like you and me, no one else watches that show). But certainly we agree that Pelosi - along with Dems in general - have not done a bang up job opposing Bush over the last 6 years. But honestly, do you think Pelosi deserves MORE of the blame for that than the rest of the Party? If anything, she's shown MORE guts than most of the caucus in standing up to Bush. Just a thought...

by HSTruman on Wed May 31, 2006 at 04:12:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Appearances are important (none / 0)

Agreed to some extent. Quite frankly, I won't lose any sleep if she becomes speaker. It really won't bother me that much. All I was saying that she is used to lecturing others on saying the "right" things to the media. So she is fair game for an article like this. I see nothing outrageous about the article.

by Pravin on Wed May 31, 2006 at 06:36:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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