In her office decorated with bowls of yellow roses this week, the role House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted to brag about wasn't the one she has been playing to hammer out terms of
Mother's Day this Sunday is historic here because it's the first time a top
congressional leader has been one of the honorees. As speaker of the House, Pelosi is also the first woman ever to come so close to the
presidency, second in the constitutional line of succession. But Pelosi wants no one to forget that she started out in more
traditional women's work.
"I've always taken great pride in the fact that I was a mom, that this was
my life's experience and that it brought something to the table," says the
California Democrat, who raised five children before entering electoral
politics. "Mother's Day is probably one of the most patriotic days in
Pelosi's emphasis on her maternal qualities is a politically savvy move, softening her image at a time when she's leading her party in a constitutional showdown with President Bush. But it's also culturally significant.
The speaker, 67, is of a generation in which many professional women found it prudent to downplay their family commitments. At the pinnacle of her power, Pelosi has showcased hers. She took her oath of office surrounded by her six grandchildren, and, on the spur of the moment, she invited other members' children and grandchildren on hand for Congress' opening ceremonies to join her on the rostrum. "Somebody like me, as speaker of the house, has a responsibility to the younger generation of women to say: Don't think of this as a minus," Pelosi says. "This is a plus, being a mother, having an experience of raising a family."
Kellyanne Conway, a Republican pollster who says she's no fan of Pelosi's politics, nonetheless hails her efforts as a role
model. "She proves you can have it all and do it all, but not at the same
time,"
The daughter of Thomas D'Alesandro, who was elected to the House the year
before she was born and later was mayor of
"When my children were small, I barely had time to wash my face,"
says Pelosi, whose currently elegant mien and attire
have generated -- to her chagrin -- as much ink as her policy positions. She
volunteered for the Democratic Party and became
Pelosi says her children gave her the scheduling
discipline it takes to be a successful politician. Meeting their demands taught
her to budget her time: "I was raising them, but they were forging
me."
She professes to be "dazzled" by younger women in Congress who are
raising families and pursuing political careers. But she advises all new House
members that "politics is an insatiable beast" and that they must
take time to "recreate with your family."
"It renews you," Pelosi says. "It makes
you stronger at doing the job you're doing." Taking her own advice, Pelosi is planning to spend Mother's Day in
But to hear Pelosi tell it, it's also a day that encapsulates the zenith of her existence.
"Nothing in my life will ever, ever compare to being a mom. Not being a member of Congress, not being speaker of the House. I wish I could do it all over again, but my children won't give me my grandchildren."