""As a mother and grandmother, I think 'lioness'," she says. "You come near the cubs, you're dead.""
Rolling With Pelosi
The GOP says she's a loony lefty, and she is, in fact, unabashedly liberal. But she's also a pol, and may just become Madam Speaker.
Hitting the Gas: Pelosi's discipline has kept the Dems united against the GOP
By Karen Breslau, Eleanor Clift and Daren Briscoe
Newsweek
Oct. 23, 2006 issue - Nancy Pelosi walks out of an airport the way others might flee a burning building. A car is waiting outside and the California congresswoman, straining under the weight of a suitcase, a fold-over bag and a pile of newspapers, cannot reach it quickly enough. Behind her, two young aides are having a hard time keeping up with their 66-year-old boss—if only because both of them are attempting to navigate their way through the concourse while furiously typing into their BlackBerrys at the same time.
There are only a few weeks left before the midterm elections, and for Pelosi, the few minutes it takes to walk from the gate to the exit are wasted time. Time that could be spent memorizing the names and faces of the 200 people she's about to meet, or squeezing donors for last-minute contributions that will enable Pelosi to reach her ultimate goal: winning the 15 seats Democrats need to take control of the House. If they do, Pelosi, the House minority leader since 2002, will rise to Speaker of the House. She'll be the first Democrat to hold the job in 12 years. And the first woman, ever.
The chances look pretty good. Current polls show Democrats could win 25 or more House seats. But Pelosi's strategy seems to be to campaign as if she doesn't believe it. Her own district in bluest of blue San Francisco is safe, so she spends most of her time on the road scrounging votes—and cash—for others. In a typical week she touches down in five cities in four days, a blur of restaurant fund-raisers and quieter, one-on-one appeals.
This October afternoon it's Portland, Ore. Inside the car at last, Pelosi starts making up for lost time. An aide has already dialed a cell phone and hands it over to the boss, telling her who's waiting at the other end of the line. Pelosi congratulates the Pennsylvania candidate Patrick Murphy for being selected to give the Democrats' response to the president's Saturday radio address. A few pleasantries later, she hangs up and the other aide immediately hands her a different phone. Another congressman wants to review the guest list for his fund-raiser. She hangs up and the aide passes Pelosi another phone. The congresswoman grows irritated when the aide fumbles to explain what the call is about. "First who," she instructs, "then what."
CONTINUED
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