Just after 11pm EST Tuesday night, MSNBC's Chris Matthews celebrated how Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, a likelihood following the Democratic takeover of that body, will be “a great opportunity for her and a great opportunity for women” and an “amazing moment” when at the next State of the Union address she'll be “the incredibly interesting person” next to Dick Cheney with his “fire hydrant build” and “very distinguished snarl.” Matthews told Keith Olbermann, his co-anchor:
"I think it's a great opportunity for her and a great opportunity for women. I think one of the most stunning, most iconic pictures we'll see on television in the next year is the State of the Union address, where you have Dick Cheney, who has got that sort of, you know, fire hydrant build sitting there with that very distinguished snarl of his, and then this incredibly interesting person next, a woman, first time ever sitting behind the President sharing power with the American government. It's going to be an amazing moment.”
Matthews continued his speculation:
“And the question she has to decide as she takes on this role is, is she going to be a leader of the House, or the a leader of the Democrats. She has to be both. But that leader of the House role is very important. She cannot just be a Democratic leader. She has to represent every member of that House, and that's a very difficult role. Some people have been able to play it over the years -- Sam Rayburn, I think Tip O'Neill, some of the others, and some others have just been simply political leaders.”
