Will Pelosi-Obama 2007 Bring Real Change?

[Rach3]

Congratulations to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, stepping up to be the first-ever woman in the top leadership position of the HR:

Pelosi Expected to Be 1st Woman Speaker

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. Nancy Pelosi dashes off declarations about what she would do with a Democratic majority in the House with the ease of someone ordering a latte at Starbucks.

The woman expected to become the nation's first Madam Speaker promises a barrage of ''discrete deliverables'' in the first 100 work hours after the Democrats take control...

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-ELN-Pelosi-Profile.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1163005864-vNLMP1py+T0tX3EpDIfEZA

Now that the Democrats will have http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061108/NEWS07/611080413/1009 in Congress, one hopes some of the ugliest secrets of the administration will be torn open - the secret torture prisons, the no-bids defence contracts, the Abramoff corruption, the secret executive wartime powers and NSA spying, the Iraq leadership, among a few. So the question is - will this new Congress make efficent use of its popular mandate, or revert to gutless conciliatory politics?

And in the heels of the expected investigations, is it too optimistic to expect a double impeachement sometime shortly? (The outcome being, the House Speaker assuming the executive role, and so forth.)

 

[Gokul43201]

Pelosi has essentially promised (this was a couple months ago?) to not pursue impeachment.

 

[arildno]

Hope she goes back on that "promise". It is overdue.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Pelosi has essentially promised (this was a couple months ago?) to not pursue impeachment.

Yes, and sometime after the subpoenas begin, she will be quoted as saying, "but we didn't know then what we know now".

 

[selfAdjoint]

As for the title of the thread, I don't like that ticket. Pure legislators (have either Pelosi or Obama ever done anything else?) don't often win presidential elections. A presidential candidate might have

• Charisma
• Evidence of a past leadership role
• Governance experience
• Legislative experience

to be a winner he should have aces in two of these and at least an arguable showing in a third. State governers are good bets since they can claim two and three almost ex officio. Kennedy had one, two (his PT boat thing) and arguably four (he was a senator, even if he was a kid one).

Obama certainly has charisma, but aside from the legislative experience which both candidates have, they are really short in the other categories. Compare McCain.

It's not enough to wow the faithful; you have to carry over half the independents.

 

[Rach3]

...presidential elections...

You missed the point of the discussion. It's not "Pelosi-Obama 2008?" - read the title carefully (and maybe, if you're adventerous, the opening post).

 

[Astronuc]

It took me a bit to get the gist of the title - at first like SA - I was thinking P and VP, but then realized that the title referred to the respective congressional chambers.

Actually, it's more likely Pelosi - Shumer. Chuck Shumer lead the democratic senate campaign.

As for what to expect from Pelosi - some possible insight -

'Chronicle' Reporter on Pelosi's New Role
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6456067

Fresh Air from WHYY, November 8, 2006 · Journalist Marc Sandalow talks about Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) who stands to become the first female Speaker of the House. Pelosi represents California's 8th District, which covers most of the city of San Francisco. She has held the post since 1987. Sandalow serves as the Washington Bureau chief for the San Francisco Chronicle.

China Anticipates Bumpy Road With U.S.
from The Associated Press
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6463770

BEIJING November 9, 2006, 4:09 p.m. ET · China is uneasily anticipating a bumpy road in relations with the United States now that the Democrats' victory in midterm elections has placed one of Beijing's most ardent critics in charge of the House of Representatives.

Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi climbed the Democratic Party ranks in Congress savaging China for its human rights abuses. She opposed awarding China normal trading relations throughout the 1990s and giving Beijing the 2008 Olympics, seeking to deny the country apparent U.S. approval for its behavior.

With the 66-year-old Pelosi now in a more powerful public pulpit, China is expecting more critical treatment.

"This old woman has a great bias against China, possibly creating some static in China-U.S. relations," Jin Canrong, an America watcher at Renmin University in Beijing, said in a report Wednesday on Sina.com, one of China's most popular Internet portals.

The US pays China $77 billion/yr of interest on the US debt. An example of fiscal conservatism?

And more often than not, we are borrowing from countries the sane among us would prefer not to be indebted to: The U.S. shells out $77 billion a year in interest to foreign creditors, including payment on the $300 billion we currently owe China.

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/worst_congress_ever/page/6

 

[Astronuc]

It appears that Harry Reid (D-NV) will assume majority leader in the Senate. Reid is currently minority leader.

The democrats should keep in mind that things could change in two years if they do not act properly or are not productive.

 

[Gokul43201]

It took me a bit to get the gist of the title - at first like SA - I was thinking P and VP...

I think Rach is talking about P and VP... following a hypothetical double impeachment. I'm not sure how Obama fits in though. If the Dems follow tradition, 88 yr. old Robert Byrd (WV) will likely become President pro tempore of the Senate in January.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

If Bush vetoes everything passed by Congress, they can still blame the Reps.

I saw Delay today on CNN. He wanted the freshman Dem congressmen and congresswomen to know that they should not to unpack as they will only be staying for two years. When asked what he thought about Delay's comments, one of the new Congressman suggested that Delay needs to start packing... for prison.