I'm generally in agreement with Matt's thoughts on the Democratic House leadership. A big part of why Democrats have performed better than expected since the 2004 defeat has to do with the strong leadership of Nancy Pelosi. She held the caucus together against Social Security privatization, supported Rahm Emanuel for DCCC chairman because she knew he'd be "coldblooded enough" to drive Democrats to victory, and let Jack Murtha be the star of the Iraq war fight. In comments, Petey worries about her being from San Francisco. As someone who appreciates the importance of regionalism in politics, I see where he's coming from. But I take comfort in the fact that Pelosi isn't a publicity hog -- she'll be happy to let her more appropriately located allies with better biographies (Jack Murtha, for example) be the stars. Yet another reason to fight really hard for Democratic control of the House is that we don't want Steny Hoyer using her failure as a path to the leadership. Hoyer is a compromising centrist with hawkish attitudes on foreign policy and strong ties to lobbyists. If you're trying to stop a bankruptcy bill or a war, or pass single-payer health care in 2009, he's not the guy you want in charge.
