we get bonus points here at CC for realizing that this was going to become a problem the day after the election, and already having it fully discussed.
Speaker Makes Room for New No. 1 Democrat
WASHINGTON — When the 111th Congress convenes Tuesday, Representative Nancy Pelosi will return to her post as House speaker but in an entirely new role.
For the last two years, Ms. Pelosi, 68, of California, has been the driving force behind the Democratic Party’s ambitions, using her firm grip on the House to set the agenda. Now she finds herself about to become facilitator in chief, working with her Senate counterpart, Harry Reid of Nevada, to advance the ideals of the nation’s new No. 1 Democrat: Barack Obama.
Ms. Pelosi said she was more than willing to make room at the top, saying she was overjoyed to be working with a fellow Democrat in the Oval Office after two years of butting heads with President Bush on everything from the war in Iraq to children’s health care to overall spending.
“It is for me thrilling to be speaker with a Democrat in the White House. This is what we have worked for for such a long time,†Ms. Pelosi said in an interview. “I feel in a stronger position now. For me, my responsibility as speaker is enormously enhanced by a president whose vision I respect and whose agenda I will help stamp.â€
Yet even some Pelosi allies predict the coming months could be an adjustment for a speaker who has relished being in command.
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