“THERE ARE OTHER WAYS to go about [this war] than to have thousands of people killed on both sides.” So proclaimed House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi last Tuesday on CNBC’s “Capital Report.”
In the same segment of the show, however, she said, “I would not second guess the military on a war plan and its effectiveness.” She added, “Once the president makes the call I think we just have to wait and see and give the plan time to work itself out.”
Nancy Pelosi seems to be suffering from episodic attacks of foot-in-mouth disease, followed by period of total propriety. Pelosi lurches unaccountably back and forth between comments appropriate to the leadership of the national Democratic party, and what she might be expected to say among friends at home in her ultra-liberal San Francisco district.
The day the war started, Pelosi was quoted in the Washington Times defending Tom Daschle’s very public opposition to the war. She called his antiwar venom “patriotic” and compared him unfavorably to Republican leaders who were “being partisan.”
Just days later, however, she was the model of wartime political propriety: “I’m not going to make any judgments about the conduct of the war except to pray for the families with loved ones who are serving in the Persian Gulf and especially for those who have lost a loved one.”
The following day, as news was breaking that Saddam International Airport had been secured by coalition forces and renamed Baghdad International Airport, Pelosi was at it again, holding a special press event to issue a statement accusing Bush and House Republicans of trying to “shortchange our men and women on the front lines protecting the homeland . . . in this time of war, with our nation on high alert” and calling them “downright reckless.” No doubt she considers such statements “patriotic.”
The same day, AP referred to Pelosi as “a prewar opponent of Bush’s policies,” citing her comment that House Democrats “will certainly be voting to support the supplemental that the president has requested to support our troops in this very, very dangerous and difficult time.” Comments such as the above suggest that her change of heart may not be as complete as AP imagines.
A press release issued Thursday announced that Pelosi will receive the 2003 Alan Cranston Peace Award next Saturday “for her critical role in promoting nuclear disarmament, international peace, human rights, environmental sustainability and gender equity.” It will presented to her by Pierce Brosnan, a Stardummy in the making. “Nancy Pelosi,” says Brosnan, “has consistently promoted values the world needs now more than ever–environmental responsibility and human security based on respect and cooperation amongst nations. I am proud to be able to honor her work.” Apparently James Bond is a pacifist, a feminist, and an environmentalist these days.
Keep an eye on this dynamic duo for some classic one-liners, and on Pelosi for more Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde antics as she opines on the rest of the war, “peace prize” in hand.
Katherine Mangu-Ward is a reporter at The Weekly Standard.
