As highest female elected official in U.S. history, Nancy Pelosi intends to paint her own picture

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Pelosi piques public's interest
As incoming head of the House, with more eyes on her, she intends to paint her own picture.
By Faye Fiore, Times Staff Writer
December 11, 2006

....As Pelosi prepares to be sworn in Jan. 4 as the first female speaker of the House, she has become an object of fascination and curiosity in political circles and beyond. Barbara Walters interviewed her as one of the year's 10 most fascinating people. People magazine has written about her twice in recent weeks. An article in a Palm Springs newspaper ran with the headline: "How To Get the Nancy Pelosi Look." (Answer: an Armani suit.)

Only weeks ago, Republicans were doing their best in the heat of the campaign to paint Pelosi, 66, as a conservative's nightmare — a San Francisco liberal out of touch with the American mainstream. But more recently, a poll measuring political charisma showed that she had "dramatically improved her standing" with the public, sponsors of the survey said, with voters knowing her better and feeling warmer toward her.

Now Pelosi is planning a series of events to commemorate her swearing-in as the senior official in the House, second in the line of succession. The events in the first week of January will try to plant Pelosi's version of her life story in the national consciousness, showing her as an Italian American and devout Catholic from Baltimore, who married her college sweetheart, raised five children, ran for Congress in middle-age and shattered a Washington gender barrier days before her sixth grandchild was born.

The impending inauguration kicks off the contest over who will define Nancy Pelosi: Republicans who see her as a reckless liberal, or Pelosi herself, who wants to be seen as an American Everywoman, leading her party on a steady course to the center....

***

The Jan. 4 gavel-passing will officially install her as speaker, the highest office ever attained by a female elected official in the U.S....On Friday, a "People's House" event is planned at the Capitol, where Pelosi will meet and thank a broader group of well-wishers. The business of Congress will proceed in between, with Pelosi convening the House to launch the much-promoted "First 100 Hours" agenda that includes ethics reforms and a minimum-wage increase....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pelosi11dec11,0,5320264.story?coll=la-home-nation

[goclark]

1. Hurry Jan 4th

[AndyTiedye]

2. Go Nancy!

Though sometimes I wonder whom this scares more, the wingnuts or Nancy herself.