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A review by thomasindc
Pelosi by Molly Ball
5.0
A great profile of the most powerful woman in US political history.
I grew up during the years, and in a geographic area, dominated by conservative media. My entire knowledge of Nancy Pelosi (until the famous White House meeting with which this book opens), was that she was Democratic Leadership and that the Right utterly hated her. To say I had no opinion of Pelosi would be an understatement, it was only a vague knowing that she existed.
In the more recent years of the Trump administration, I came to be far more aware of her. As I'm sure is true for many, however politically engaged or attentive I was during the Obama Administration, attention heightened during the 4 years of Trump. Her method of handling the situations presented to her was admirable, and it should be hard to find someone who has paid attention to her who does not, at least, respect her.
In the past few years, I have often been grudging about what I saw to be a too-conservative Democratic party in many ways manifested by Pelosi in the Speakership. I made the mistake of many: confusing her political machinations with her policy beliefs. This book does a fantastic job of examining Pelosi's early years and rise, and how they have shaped her approach to this work. You come away with a much different understanding of Pelosi: that she was not unlike an AOC of her generation. The author, Molly Ball, in an early portion of the book cites Pelosi's affinity for a Lincoln quote: "...public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed." Ball notes that many people misinterpret this saying; observing it to mean that politicians should follow the public sentiment. Pelosi is not a victim of this misinterpretation.
Unlike Sam Rayburn, who would not question a Representative who said, "This vote will hurt me in my district" - Pelosi expected action. Ball describes that Pelosi's expectation was that Representatives should go to their districts and sell - the shape public sentiment and find power in that work. Later in the book, a series of interactions with AOC are discussed, and an AOC tweet is quoted, "That public “whatever” is called public sentiment. And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country." (https://twitter.com/aoc/status/1147668951834476545?lang=en) - interestingly delivered in retort to Pelosi's critique of Twitter power.
The profile examines Pelosi's rise to power and her mastery of those levers and notes that her pragmatic approach is not a dereliction of her liberal early days, but the recognition that comes with so many years of wisdom: power is only useful if you can get something done. Speaker Pelosi has certainly accomplished much in her career. I'm hopeful that years later, Molly Ball or another biographer will take another look at this figure of our lives who has gone unstudied by most outside of GOP strategy sessions.
I grew up during the years, and in a geographic area, dominated by conservative media. My entire knowledge of Nancy Pelosi (until the famous White House meeting with which this book opens), was that she was Democratic Leadership and that the Right utterly hated her. To say I had no opinion of Pelosi would be an understatement, it was only a vague knowing that she existed.
In the more recent years of the Trump administration, I came to be far more aware of her. As I'm sure is true for many, however politically engaged or attentive I was during the Obama Administration, attention heightened during the 4 years of Trump. Her method of handling the situations presented to her was admirable, and it should be hard to find someone who has paid attention to her who does not, at least, respect her.
In the past few years, I have often been grudging about what I saw to be a too-conservative Democratic party in many ways manifested by Pelosi in the Speakership. I made the mistake of many: confusing her political machinations with her policy beliefs. This book does a fantastic job of examining Pelosi's early years and rise, and how they have shaped her approach to this work. You come away with a much different understanding of Pelosi: that she was not unlike an AOC of her generation. The author, Molly Ball, in an early portion of the book cites Pelosi's affinity for a Lincoln quote: "...public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed." Ball notes that many people misinterpret this saying; observing it to mean that politicians should follow the public sentiment. Pelosi is not a victim of this misinterpretation.
Unlike Sam Rayburn, who would not question a Representative who said, "This vote will hurt me in my district" - Pelosi expected action. Ball describes that Pelosi's expectation was that Representatives should go to their districts and sell - the shape public sentiment and find power in that work. Later in the book, a series of interactions with AOC are discussed, and an AOC tweet is quoted, "That public “whatever” is called public sentiment. And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country." (https://twitter.com/aoc/status/1147668951834476545?lang=en) - interestingly delivered in retort to Pelosi's critique of Twitter power.
The profile examines Pelosi's rise to power and her mastery of those levers and notes that her pragmatic approach is not a dereliction of her liberal early days, but the recognition that comes with so many years of wisdom: power is only useful if you can get something done. Speaker Pelosi has certainly accomplished much in her career. I'm hopeful that years later, Molly Ball or another biographer will take another look at this figure of our lives who has gone unstudied by most outside of GOP strategy sessions.