Poor Leadership

Take 5 minutes and watch the Speaker--well--speak.

Speaker Pelosi's partisan attack on Republicans and on President Bush killed the first vote on this so-called bailout package. To quote the Wall Street Journal this morning, "[t]he majority party is responsible for assembling a majority vote, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi failed in that fundamental task."

The bailout package went down, not in flames, but by a narrow margin of 228-205: a mere 14 votes. It failed because the Speaker played partisan games.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives--the person 3rd in line to the Presidency--owes a duty to the American people beyond just her ultra-liberal San Francisco district. She owes a duty to every citizen in this country. Once she decided to support this bailout, she needed to do everything in her power to pass the bill. Instead, she did what a rookie, back-bencher would do. She went on the attack. She brought out the same partisan-hack rhetoric that is all too familiar from the Democrats.

Here is the real story. Lots of Republicans voted for this bill. However, many of them defected after hearing Pelosi pin all of this on Republicans in her rant. The Speaker should have NEVER given that speech on the floor of the House. The Speaker should have exhibited non-partisan leadership in this time of national turmoil. She should have given Democrats and Republicans political "cover" to get this deal done. Instead, she attacked.

Have you watched President Bush on this debate? Has he once sought to assign blame? He could. There are many people who believe (count me among them) that the Clinton Administration relaxed rules on banks to help the poor in America "realize the dream of homeownership" and this has resulted in this mess. There is an article in the New York Times that is floating around the Internet that proves it. What is happening on Wall Street didn't happen overnight. President Bush could be on the attack. He's not. As a leader, he recognizes that partisan politics must be put aside now for the good of the nation.

I laugh when the Democrats talk about the "Republican attack machine." Ridiculous. Has anyone been attacked more regularly and more harshly than Republican President George W. Bush. For God's sake, Nancy Pelosi refuses to reject impeachment!

I wish I could tell you the madness will stop. The Republicans face an uphill fight to retake control of the House. But, let's hope the American people see Nancy Pelosi as the failed leader that she is. I am confident that America is not so far left as to allow this madness to continue.