By Faye
Fiore
Nancy
Pelosi knew Earl Blumenauer would be a hard case, but she left two messages on
his cellphone anyway.
A
liberal, bow-tied, bicycle-riding peacenik from
"I've
been trying to get ahold of you," the House speaker said when she caught
up with the Portland Democrat in the Capitol's basement. They sat down. She
said she empathized with his dilemma — she too had opposed the war from the
start and wanted it ended fast. But in her mind the choice was simple: Hand
President Bush a victory or hand him a rebuke.
"She
convinced me," said Blumenauer, whose vote helped give Pelosi her most
important legislative victory. "For me, there was no attempt at pressure.
I was able to convey my concerns. She was there. She was listening."
Pelosi's
performance on the war spending bill highlighted what has become her signature:
an aggressive leadership style that seeks to put Congress on par with the White
House and prove that her notoriously fractious party can indeed govern.
Her style
has surprised some in the caucus. Liberals who expected camaraderie say she's a
poor listener, and conservatives who expected a cold shoulder say listening is
one of her better skills.
Some
Democrats worried she would run the House as a
"She
has elevated her game, which is exactly what you have to do," said Rep.
Adam Smith of Washington, a leader of the moderate New Democrats. "She is
a lot better leader as speaker than she ever has been."
Pelosi's
forceful approach carries risks. Her recent trip to
But her
attempts to open a
In the
opening days of the House session, when the nation was paying close attention,
Pelosi pushed through six popular bills while shutting down GOP demands for
debate. The exercise made Democrats appear unified and ready for business.
"Pelosi
is engaged in what I call new machine-style politics," Rep. Patrick T.
McHenry (R-N.C.), an outspoken critic, wrote in an e-mail. "She
centralizes power in the speaker's office and deploys a divide-and-conquer strategy
even within her own party. When her poll numbers are high, all is well. When
her poll numbers drop, watch out."
As the
highest-ranking woman in elective office, Pelosi is as much a power player as
the men who preceded her.
"She's
well-bred, a lady through and through," said Rep. Anna G. Eshoo
(D-Atherton), Pelosi's friend of 30 years. "But anyone who knows her knows
not to mess with her."
With a
father who was a Baltimore mayor and congressman who ran a political machine
out of the family's brick row house, Pelosi cultivates loyalty in ways large
and small, much as her father did — keeping careful political tallies, but
still remembering birthdays.
She opens
her office doors to the factions of her ideologically splintered caucus,
instructing staffers to stock the refrigerator and "always offer
guests."
"I
would not be bashful about being critical, but I think she has tremendous
respect to date," said Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Atwater), a three-term
moderate whose candidacy Pelosi did not initially endorse. "She still
represents a district from
Polls
suggest Pelosi is winning over the public as well. Before the midterm election,
more Americans disapproved of her than not. Now it's the other way around. She
has leveraged her novelty as the first woman speaker to become the most
recognizable Democrat outside of the presidential field.
Now
Pelosi signs autographs — her aides carry Sharpies. A recent appearance at
Displaying
a knack for political stagecraft (recall the image of the newly installed
speaker surrounded by children), she grants few substantive interviews but
posed for photographer Annie Leibovitz in Vogue. Ms. Magazine put her on the
cover. On a single day last month, she had her picture taken with Tiger Woods,
Bill Gates and
In less
carefully choreographed circumstances, Pelosi sometimes trips. A recent
televised news conference on
In many
ways, Pelosi's leadership style seems inspired by her former life as a
stay-at-home mother of five. She governs the unwieldy chamber much the way she
did her Presidio Terrace household, refusing to reward tantrums, reining in know-it-alls,
assigning chores and mollifying complainers.
When
Pelosi shoved aside fellow Democrat Jane Harman of
One of
her first acts as speaker was to let stand the GOP-imposed term limits on
committee chairs, rankling some old bulls. "It was not a discussion, it
was an announcement," one senior Democratic staffer recalled.
(Know-it-alls restrained.)
She moved
to elevate the issue of global warming by forming a select committee to
function independently of at least eight panels already at work on legislation,
irking the chairs again. (Chores assigned.)
Pelosi
compromised, agreeing to disband the committee after a year to appease a
furious John D. Dingell of
There
have been, however, some questionable decisions.
In the
contest over who would succeed her as House Democratic leader, Pelosi split the
caucus — needlessly, in the view of some Democrats — when she unsuccessfully
tried to defeat an old rival, the popular Steny H. Hoyer of
She was
blindsided by a flap over her request for a larger military jet to fly around
the country, a perk that comes with being second-in-line to the presidency.
Conservatives made headlines calling her a diva.
And the early
rush to pass a flurry of bills — including calls for a higher minimum wage,
lower tuition costs and expanded care for veterans — set a pace Democrats
cannot possibly sustain.
Pelosi's
speakership has been defined largely by her challenge to the president's war
strategy. But the stakes are high for Pelosi and her party, which is considered
vulnerable on national defense.
Democrats
could find themselves tarred as meddlesome if Bush convinces Americans that the
party is endangering the troops. And if Bush's troop increase makes
For the
moment, though, Pelosi — the GOP's No. 1 congressional target — has frustrated
Republicans' hope that she would lead her party astray.
"On
the conservative side of the aisle, we hoped she would have done stuff that
would have made it easier to demonize her very quickly," said GOP
strategist Tony Fabrizio. "But they seem to be watching their step, at
least for the time being, and not acting as precipitously as everybody
thought."