by Warren O. Brennan

Created on: August 25, 2009

I have often said that being Speaker of the House of Representatives may be the hardest job in politics. The Speaker is foremost a political position. While we like to think every member on the hill represents nothing more than their constituents best interests, the fact of the matter is as soon as they pick up the gavel for the first time the Speaker becomes the chief strategist of the party in power. This is the reality of a two party system, as well as the somewhat draconian rules of our Congress that allow the party in power to completely set the agenda.

In a purely political analysis, Nancy Pelosi has certainly been effective. In the last year she has made some brilliant political moves and successfully passed legislation Democrats have been waiting decades for. However, as has been with party leaders previous, success in some areas has made her incredibly unpopular in others.

Grading Nancy

Farm Bill-F

Large farm subsidies seem to be universally hated by everyone who pays any attention to politics, with the except of Southern Congressmen who love going back to rural voters and bragging about earmarks for growing corn and breeding horses. The bill championed by House Democrats in 2008 was the largest yet, netting nearly $300 billion over the next 5 years for mostly large agribusiness. Pelosi was front and center on the issue. While these types of subsidies are nothing new, the inability to control the extent of spending in the bills has been a consistent rallying cry for government spending watch dogs. We certainly cannot say this was an example of Democrats run-a-muck, since so many Republicans ultimately supported the bill, but we can say that this was not Pelosi's shining moment. She could have easily shown leadership on the issue and either: 1) Rained in both Democrats and Republicans attaching extensive earmarks on the legislation or 2) Explained in detail exactly why the exorbitant amount of funding was needed, allowing a public debate to proceed prior to any vote on the bill. Instead, she took the more politically shrewd path, which has become the mark of her tenure. She passed the bill, checked it off in the win column, and moved on. Political skill for sure, but no help in restoring American's confidence in the Congress.

CIA and Waterboarding-B

At first, Pelosi's statement that the CIA has "Consistently misled the Congress" seemed a stretch. It was even characterized by many as unpatriotic. However, following further examination, her statements

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