Pelosi gets more clout, big test of leadership
By Rob Hotakainen | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — On Capitol Hill, the elections produced one clear winner: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco liberal whose relationship with a new crop of conservative Democrats will go a long way toward determining her success in the 111th Congress.
With at least 19 freshmen joining the Democratic caucus, Pelosi will have more power than any speaker of the House of Representatives has had since 1994, when Republicans seized control under Newt Gingrich. With Pelosi's increased clout, however, will come a big test of her leadership skills.
Pelosi's major challenge will be to make peace between her party's often-impatient left wing and the more moderate freshmen who won in Republican-leaning districts. At the same time, there'll be new orders coming from the Obama White House.
"She has a president who's dictating her agenda," said Thad Kousser, an associate professor of political science at the University of California-San Diego. "She's not the leader of her party anymore."
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