Wow, this one is loaded, even for CBS News. It’s a “cover story” by Rita Braver, on Nancy Pelosi. First, the headline:
Nancy Pelosi Fires Back
Yeah, she does! Rootin’, tootin’, shootin’ Pelosi!
Then, the subhead:
The Woman Speaker Targeted by the GOP Does Not Believe Democrats Will Lose Control of the House
Yes. Exactly, Rita. The GOP is targeting Pelosi because she’s “the woman Speaker.” We’re those same crazy Tea Party wingers who practically wet ourselves at the mere mention of Sarah Palin. Dumbass.
The hypocrisy is well-nigh unbearable, and I don’t (for once) mean the GOP’s.
Now let’s get to the story, which I assume is the text to the voiceover for some very flattering visuals:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is all business. Whether it’s on her morning walk along the Potomac . . .
“This is where you think about stuff?” Braver asked.
“No, mostly I’m on the phone,” Pelosi replied.
. . . or showing off the private balcony outside her Capitol office . . .
“Do you ever let yourself relax, and just do nothing, loaf a little?” asked Braver.
“No. It sounds like a good idea!” she laughed. “I think I may take that up, but not until after the election.”
Pelosi is “all business.” She takes power walks. She has a private balcony. She’s a hard worker. She has, Braver admits, “reason to worry about this election.”
But — you knew a big but was coming, didn’t you? — Pelosi is still “the irresistible force who marshaled House Democrats to pass controversial administration policies, including health care, the stimulus package and Wall Street reform.” Sure, she might have “become a punching bag for Republicans,” but there’s no reason to doubt that she’s still “a hero in some quarters.”
And the big finish:
“I’m not a footnote; I’m the first woman Speaker of the House and we passed the most comprehensive health insurance reform,” Pelosi said. “I didn’t come here about me. I came here about policy and the issues. Are you saying, would I rather not have passed the health care bill so I could keep this office? Never. Never,” she smiled.
Big, brave smiles, then dolly back and fade to black.
The last time anyone in Washington got the treatment Braver just gave Pelosi, it got Bill Clinton brought up under articles of impeachment.
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