How Pelosi's determination could hamper Obama - Washington Post

Just when President Obama thought he had all the problems he could handle, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might have handed him another.

Pelosi stunned many Democrats on Friday with the announcement that she will run for leader of the new Democratic minority in the House. If her colleagues and the smart money in Washington thought she would retreat and resign after the Democrats' 60-seat loss Tuesday, Pelosi reminded them that she didn't become the first female speaker in history through timidity.

The question is whether she has significantly complicated life for Obama as he prepares to deal with the Republican majority in the House and Senate Republicans led by someone who spent the week hurling thunderbolts at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. From outside reports, the White House was conflicted about whether it wanted her to stay or go, torn between loyalty to the speaker for all she did during the past two years and its own political needs in the wake of Tuesday's loss.

Pelosi would be a symbol of resistance and liberal opposition to the Republicans. If Obama wants a House leader who will help draw bright lines of distinction with the new House majority, Pelosi could be exactly the right person to lead House Democrats. If he wants more room to maneuver, to make deals with Republicans as well as confront them, she might not be at all what he wants.

Memories are short in Washington, which is why there was such widespread expectation that Pelosi would resign. Former Republican speaker Newt Gingrich stepped down days after his party's embarrassing performance in the 1998 midterms (though the party did not lose its majority). Former Republican speaker J. Dennis Hastert decided not to seek a leadership position after his party lost the majority four years ago and later quit Congress entirely.

For Pelosi, who might have looked further back in the history books, the role model could be Sam Rayburn, the legendary Democratic speaker from Texas. Rayburn's party lost its majority in the 1946 midterms but he stayed on, running successfully for minority leader - although he never liked the term.

Rayburn's persistence was rewarded when Harry S. Truman's 1948 campaign against the "do-nothing" 80th Congress not only resulted in the president's unexpected victory but the election of a Democratic majority in the House to boot.

Pelosi might not believe House Democrats will return to the majority that quickly, but she sounds determined to defend what has happened on her watch.

If Rayburn was one of the strongest speakers in history, Pelosi is the strongest of modern times. Fighting the kind of prejudice that all women in politics face, she emerged as a shrewd, savvy and, above all, tough-minded speaker. Under her leadership, the House passed historic legislation and accumulated a record of significant productivity. Without her political skills, Obama would not be able to count health care as one of his achievements.

The other side of the story is that Pelosi became as polarizing a figure as there was in Washington - much more than Obama. The health-care law has divided the country and come to symbolize Democratic overreach. She pushed House Democrats to pass the cap-and-trade energy bill, and many paid the price.

By Election Day, her image was upside down, with 29 percent viewing her favorably and 58 percent unfavorably. Only among liberal Democrats did her image hold up during the four years she has been speaker. Among all other groups - Republicans, independents, moderate and conservative Democrats - her numbers declined.

Republicans made Pelosi their favorite target in campaign commercials this fall, and Democrats who used her did so to make the point that they would keep their distance and independence if the voters rewarded them with another term. Most of them lost anyway.

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Pelosi's decision: What will her new role in Congress be? - USA Today

By William M. Welch, USA TODAYNancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as speaker of the House, faces a decision: whether to seek to return to her old job as leader of the Democratic minority.Easily re-elected by voters in her heavily Democratic district in San Francisco, Pelosi could instead decide to step away from Congress where she has served for a quarter century, now that she no longer commands a House majority.

After a grueling campaign in which Republicans around the country demonized her as the face of a liberal Democratic Party, retirement at age 70 might seem an appealing option.

Pelosi could also take a third course: serving out her new two-year term as a House member, but not seeking a leadership post in the Democratic caucus.

Her immediate predecessor, former House speaker Dennis Hastert, opted to return to Congress as a rank-and-file Republican— outside the leadership — after voters handed Democrats and Pelosi majority control of the House four years ago. Hastert returned to private life in 2007, resigning his Illinois-based House seat halfway through his term.

Pelosi kept quiet about her plans in advance of this week's elections, saying she expected Democrats to retain the majority. Now that they have lost it, she has scheduled an interview with ABC News for Wednesday night.

"The outcome of the election does not diminish the work we have done for the American people," Pelosi said in a statement on election night as the size of the Democrats' loss became clear. "We must all strive to find common ground to support the middle class, create jobs, reduce the deficit and move our nation forward."

Some Democratic House members, including Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina, had warned they might not support her for another leadership term next year. Shuler won his third term on Tuesday.

Martin Frost, a former Democratic House member from Texas, says that was all bluster, adding Pelosi could return to the minority leader's post if she wants too. He noted that the longest-serving House speaker, Sam Rayburn, spent two brief periods with Democrats in the minority, 1947-48 and 1953-54 while maintaining his leadership post. After both terms in the minority, Rayburn regained the speaker's position when his party returned to the majority. He served as speaker for a total of 17 years.

The question, though, is would Pelosi want to do that — and would her Democratic colleagues want it as well.

"It's her call," said Frost, who lost to Pelosi in 2002 in the race for Democratic leader. "She might decide this is enough. I can't see an effective challenge (within the House Democratic caucus) to her."

Frost says that in Pelosi's four years as speaker of the House, she proved among the most effective to hold the post and helped President Obama win passage of the massive health care law, an $814 billion economic stimulus package and other goals.

Frost also credits her with how she handled becoming the target of Republican attacks in districts far from her own, and says Republicans found in her — a woman representing liberal San Francisco — an easy target.

"Part of this is because she's a woman," Frost says. "I don't think they could have done this to a male speaker. There are a lot of people who were not happy to have a woman in a position of leadership."

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