The Sacramento Bee recently reported that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's approval rating has dipped below 30%. On the surface, this isn't that big a deal...except when you consider the poll showing these low numbers was of Californians.
Ouch. From the first woman to be Speaker of the House to the first woman Speaker of the House whose approval ratings may bottom out around the approval rating of toejam. Democrats polled say Pelosi's low approval ratings are due to what they see as a lack of commitment to ending the Iraq War and holding George W. Bush accountable. And Pelosi has blamed the Republicans for holding up legislation, while at the same time claiming the House under her leadership has done so much. A female politician who blames Republicans for things going wrong and takes credit for accomplishments she had a marginal role in.
Sound familiar?
Actually, there is potential that Pelosi's woes could negatively impact Hillary's Presidential hopes. Pelosi isn't exactly a wallflower, and she has made no bones about the fact that she's the first female to be Speaker of the House. In fact, that's pretty much all she talked about for the first couple of months after Election 2006. Yet, after the honeymoon was over and Pelosi was expected to lead, she made some serious mistakes that someone with more experience or common sense would have been able to avoid.
Hillary, whether she knows it, will have to overcome the obstacles Pelosi unwittingly put in her path to the White House. Hillary cannot run on her record of experience because in reality she has none. She can't run on putting Bill back in the White House because he won't be the one making decisions. The best he'll be able to do is offer strategy suggestions, which puts Hillary squarely in the position of having to take a position and stick to it for more than a speech. And Hillary hasn't distinguished herself as a leader.
In short, Hillary is already starting off with negatives that can hurt her campaign, but the biggest hurdle in front of her may be Pelosi showing the world what a woman unprepared for power can...or can't...do. If Hillary has any shot at the White House, either Pelosi's going to have to be a smarter leader or Hillary is going to have to prove why she's not like Pelosi.
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' NEAR BAGHDAD - Three U.S. soldiers killed by roadside bomb southeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
BAGHDAD - Four policemen were killed and eight others wounded when a car bomb exploded near their patrol in Samarra, 100 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. '
Add to the list Blanco in Louisiana, and Jennifer Granholm in Michigan (my home state, which I now believe has one of the worst unemployment and foreclosure rates in the country), and that's quite a legacy of leadership.
Oh - and what does ole Jen go with her state? Raise taxes - THAT will get the business flowing in!
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