Catching up with George Stephanopoulos' interview on Sunday's This Week with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Stephanopoulos took the opportunity to banter with Pelosi about the possibility of a woman President in front of her on the podium at the next State of the Union. Over video of Congressman John Boehner back in January handing the gavel to Pelosi, Stephanopoulos, one once toiled for the administration of the only woman candidate, marveled: “Seeing you up at the podium, first female Speaker of the House. Do you ever think what it would be like to be standing at that podium as the first female President of the United States comes up to give the State of the Union?” A giggling Pelosi exclaimed: “Wouldn't that be exciting to have the woman as the President and woman as the Speaker of the House? It'd be pretty exciting...” When Pelosi soon contended that “it's harder to become Speaker of the House than President of the United States for a woman,” Stephanopoulos empathized with how “you had to prove you were tough enough.”
The exchange toward the end of the pre-taped session conducted in the Speaker's ceremonial office in the Capitol, and shown on the May 20 This Week with George Stephanopoulos on ABC:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: You came in about five months ago and everyone remembers that picture.
[Video of John Boehner handing the gavel to Pelosi as House members applauded]
STEPHANOPOULOS: Seeing you up at the podium, first female Speaker of the House. Do you ever think what it would be like to be standing at that podium as the first female President of the United States comes up to give the State of the Union?
PELOSI: Wouldn't that be exciting to have the woman as the President and woman as the Speaker of the House? It'd be pretty exciting. But I tell you in some ways, and you might appreciate this having experience in the White House and on Capitol Hill, sometimes I think it's harder to become Speaker of the House than President of the United States for a woman.
STEPHANOPOULOS: How so?
PELOSI: For a woman. Oh, my, no, you're dealing with an institution that has been very male-oriented for over 200 years, where you have a limited universe of people who will vote for you. And the last thing they will vote for you for is because you're a woman. So it's a tough arena. And, but I-
STEPHANOPOULOS: And you had to prove you were tough enough.
PELOSI: Well, and I felt strong enough, I'd rather say, than tough enough. But I'm very pleased that the cooperation I have received, shall we say, from my colleagues. I'm very proud of them that they had the courage to vote for a woman for Speaker of the House, President, Vice President, and Speaker of the House, the third highest office in the land and it does have a great deal of power.
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
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"Strong enough" &qu
May 22, 2007 - 11:18 ET by mattm"Strong enough" "Tough enough" "Left-wing enough"
I'd love a woman president...Ann Coulter should run. I wonder how Pelosi would react to that????
When hasn't Stephanopoulos, o
May 22, 2007 - 11:28 ET by Sergeant ROCKWhen hasn't Stephanopoulos, or any liberal in the MSM for that matter, not marveled over such a prospect?
I didn't see this interview.
May 22, 2007 - 11:30 ET by GalvanicI didn't see this interview. Did Boy George bother to ask her what she thinks she's actually accomplished in the first 5 months of her reign? I mean, she came in with all the hoopla about changing Washington and getting the US out of Iraq. So far, the House of Representatives is as useless as ever, and all her initiatives appear to be stalled. The Congress' approval rating was well under 30% in a recent Gallup poll; she sure drove it down in a hurry. But then, she's no newcomer to the House. She got to her position by playing the game, and there's no sense in changing the rules of the game if you want to maintain the job.
Very true. All she's shown
May 22, 2007 - 12:51 ET by seldumondeVery true. All she's shown me is that she is petty, passing over rival Jane Harmon for Alcee Hastings and trying to get her buddy John "Okinawa" Murtha as Majority Leader over Steny Hoyer. She's also dangerously ignorant in foreign policy, visiting terrorist-supporting dictators in defiance of established US foreign policy. And pathetic at getting anything accomplished - she's gone 0 for 6 of the "6 for '06" plan, and the first 100 hours didn't do anything. She's clearly incompetent and, I think, actually hurts a woman's chance to win major elected office.
2006 election could have been
May 22, 2007 - 14:04 ET by Gat New York2006 election could have been a blessing in disguise for Republicans given how far they went off track and how utterly incompetent Pelosi and company are. She and the Dems will be eating those first 100 days words in '08. Has there been a shorter Speaker of the House term than 2 years, which will be Pelosi's memorable reign?
Pelosi and her Senate counter
May 22, 2007 - 15:11 ET by GalvanicPelosi and her Senate counter-part Harry Reid, are such weak leaders, they actually make Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt look good. I think the MSM has been disappointed in her, too. Afterall, they were the biggest cheerleaders behind her quest for the Speaker's chair, and they naturally raised the public's expectations rather high. The first female Speaker --- not unlike the expectations for the first female President --- was going to changer everything. She was a loving grandmother who could be as tough as any male peer, and she would force the Reps to cooperate more. About the only description that still applies is the grandmother part.
And yet having a woman -- n
May 22, 2007 - 12:02 ET by lnthompAnd yet having a woman -- no, better yet a black woman -- as Secretary of State means nothing at all.
Lee T.
U.S. Navy (ret.) / Vancouver, Washington
The history of the race, and each individual's experience, are thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal.-- Mark Twain
This guy has been drooling ov
May 22, 2007 - 14:39 ET by ArchConservativeThis guy has been drooling over Pelosi (shuddering at the thought) since before she became Speaker and even called her that many times during an interview months before the election. He's a worm from the Clinton Administration and only got his job because of that. He's like the Ryan Seacrest of the news media.
"Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists."
- President George W Bush September 2001 speech to a joint session of Congress.
"the third highest offic
May 22, 2007 - 15:20 ET by general company"the third highest office in the land and it does have a great deal of power".
I was thinking responsibility, but I guess I am too old fashion