Pelosi's Ad-Lub

With the bailout plan poised to pass over the weekend, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, walked from her lush Cannon House Office Building suite towards the floor. With prepared remarks in hand that had been distributed to the press, the Speaker fumed as she walked past her Republican colleagues. With what had been weeks of heated debate despite pledges toward bipartisan cooperation, Pelosi could not resist the temptation to jab her counterparts.

As Pelosi was given time to speak, she deviated from her prepared remarks and inserted two significant, partisan sections:

"When President Bush took office, he inherited President Clinton's surpluses — four years in a row, budget surpluses, on a trajectory of $5.6 trillion in surplus. And with his reckless economic policies within two years, he had turned that around ... and now eight years later the foundation of that fiscal irresponsibility, combined with an anything-goes economic policy, has taken us to where we are today. They claim to be free-market advocates when it's really an anything-goes mentality, no regulation, no supervision, no discipline. ..."

"... Democrats believe in a free market ... but in this case, in its unbridled form as encouraged, supported by the Republicans — some in the Republican Party, not all — it has created not jobs, not capital, it has created chaos."

Did these two inserts sway enough votes to make the bailout package fail? Probably not – despite the press conference held afterwards by Republican leadership blaming Pelosi’s comments for the failed bill. But come on Nancy…for the past 15 years Republicans and Democrats have engaged in nuclear warfare and look where it has gotten us – into a mess. Can we not for a few months (dare I say years) work together to fix the sizable problems our country is facing? This is a elementary school spitball contest. It is ‘he-said, she-said.’ Pelosi – you are supposed to be the leader of the United States House of Representatives. Would you please actually lead my country?