This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/nov/14/nancy-pelosi-decision-stay-obama
The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Pelosi's decision to stay gives Obama an experienced fighter in his corner | Pelosi's decision to stay gives Obama an experienced fighter in his corner |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| When Nancy Pelosi announced she was staying on as Democratic House leader on Wednesday morning, she showed her political skills in all their glory. Following an election that has been widely described as being about women's empowerment, she surrounded herself with almost all of the 61 Democratic congresswomen and softly sang "Hallelujah, Hallelujah" (Cohen, not Handel) as the women traipsed on the stage. | |
| "This picture before you is worth millions of votes," she said. Later she described the press conference as a "girls' morning out". | "This picture before you is worth millions of votes," she said. Later she described the press conference as a "girls' morning out". |
| Pelosi, 72, is all about the votes. Her career in Congress has been remarkable for her ability to corral them, and she was well known in her home state of California for recruiting candidates and getting them elected before she ever ran for office herself. In 2012 she personally raised $85m, and as she described it, she just couldn't leave – her fellow House Dems would have none of it. | Pelosi, 72, is all about the votes. Her career in Congress has been remarkable for her ability to corral them, and she was well known in her home state of California for recruiting candidates and getting them elected before she ever ran for office herself. In 2012 she personally raised $85m, and as she described it, she just couldn't leave – her fellow House Dems would have none of it. |
| "My colleagues made it clear: don't even think of leaving. I got it over and over and over." | "My colleagues made it clear: don't even think of leaving. I got it over and over and over." |
| Pelosi has earned the right to stay. It was through her extraordinary efforts in 2010 that the Affordable Care Act passed the House. She showed her skills in shuffling votes as she juggled the liberals and the conservatives in her party when abortion threatened to bring the bill down. She is the consummate politician that Barack Obama is not. The president doesn't negotiate, he doesn't engage – Pelosi does all of that for him. "You cannot separate the policy from the politics," she said Wednesday morning, showing an innate understanding of how to get things done. | |
| As she put it in 2010: "There is a no beginning, no middle and no end. My life is a constant whip operation." | As she put it in 2010: "There is a no beginning, no middle and no end. My life is a constant whip operation." |
| Her colleagues agree that Pelosi, who in 2002 became the first woman to lead a political party in Congress, is pragmatic and hard working. House members describe her as gathering people in a room and not allowing let them leave till consensus has been reached. For all of that she is enormously popular, both in the House and in her own constituency. First elected to Congress in 1987, Pelosi regularly wins re-election with 70%-80% of the vote. | Her colleagues agree that Pelosi, who in 2002 became the first woman to lead a political party in Congress, is pragmatic and hard working. House members describe her as gathering people in a room and not allowing let them leave till consensus has been reached. For all of that she is enormously popular, both in the House and in her own constituency. First elected to Congress in 1987, Pelosi regularly wins re-election with 70%-80% of the vote. |
| Pelosi's healthcare victory cost her party the mid-term elections and she lost the position of speaker of the House (she was the first woman to hold that post, too.) Yet she continued to do battle for the president's agenda as House minority leader – the post she will keep as she prepares to continue that battle. | Pelosi's healthcare victory cost her party the mid-term elections and she lost the position of speaker of the House (she was the first woman to hold that post, too.) Yet she continued to do battle for the president's agenda as House minority leader – the post she will keep as she prepares to continue that battle. |
| "There is something very positive about this election, that this president was re-elected. It was important because we did not have a rejection of President Barack Obama," she said. "It's always more about the issues than the politics." | "There is something very positive about this election, that this president was re-elected. It was important because we did not have a rejection of President Barack Obama," she said. "It's always more about the issues than the politics." |
| At 72 is she too old stay in charge? She was asked that question by 27-year-old reporter Luke Russert at Wednesday morning's press conference to boos and cries of "age discrimination" from the women surrounding her. Pelosi said no, and that she found the question "quite offensive". Besides, she said: "Being actively involved in politics at this level is really insatiable. There aren't enough hours in the day for me. There is so much more I want to do." | |
| So how does she do it all? "Chocolate," she has said in the past. "Very, very dark chocolate." | So how does she do it all? "Chocolate," she has said in the past. "Very, very dark chocolate." |