Nancy Pelosi

I'm taking a day off from writing about Massachusetts to write about the new Queen of Politics, Nancy Pelosi. Anyone else really impressed by her first "100 hours?" Say what you want about her, but I like her style. She's tough, says it like she means it and isn't afraid to take risks. How many elected Democrats on Capitol Hill aren't afraid to take risks? Two? Three?

When Nancy Pelosi nominated John Murtha, a lot of people thought it was a mistake. I did too. The current second-in-command among the Democratic Caucus was very powerful and it would be hard to pry the votes away from him. Furthermore, Murtha isn't particularly liberal. In fact, he's probably one of the most conservative guys in the Caucus. I was speculative about the choice for one alone: his ethics were at least questionable, right or wrong, and I didn't want to see that on the news.

However, Nancy Pelosi stuck to her guns. She knew that without Iraq, Democrats certainly wouldn't have won both houses of congress - and any Democratic win in the House would have been slim, if it even happened. Right after Murtha actually lost, lots of people were dooming Nancy Pelosi. But by the time it had happened, I read enough people that I stopped seeing it as a mistake and actually saw it as a huge plus. She was willing to take a risk and, in doing so, at least made her point: Iraq is a big deal.

So, when she challenges President Bush, I get excited.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that Democrats would not give President Bush a "blank check" to continue the war in Iraq, and suggested that Democratic leaders may seek to deny the administration funding to send more troops to Iraq.

No, President, you don't have a blank check on Iraq. Because of the fact that Republicans secured his funds for another year several months ago, it will be tough for Democrats to challenge Bush over funding for the next year - but I have high confidence Nancy Pelosi will do so when it comes time to drafting the next military budget. Furthermore, she can definitely challenge President Bush on sending more troops - and it's time someone tells that man NO. It'll probably be the first time he's ever heard it.

It's time we answer all the questions surrounding the Bush Administration's Iraq War - and I trust Nancy Pelosi's Congress to do it. If the truth is out there, there's no way President Bush will get away with the things he has over the past 6 years. The grains of truth that have been revealed now likely pail in comparison to what really went on. I want those questions asked and answered. The days of Rumsfeld and Energy guys going to Congress for hearings - and not having to take the Oath - are long, long over.

Before she became Speaker, I only knew Nancy by the tone of her State of the Union "rebuttals" - long, drawn out and boring, boring, boring. However, now that she's been given power, I can start to see how she got to the point she's at today. Hopefully, that'll mean all the men and women literally stuck in Iraq - with multiple tours, lasting more than a year sometimes - will get home soon. Too many people have died, especially innocent Iraqis, and the effects have been felt close at home. It's great to have an elected leader in power who's finally going to fight for them, not just put their lives at risk on an oil-hungry whim.