The US House of Representatives has a contrast of two leaders.
On the Republican side, we have the infamous Tom Delay, the House majority leader. He has numerous ethical problems, and perhaps soon, real legal problems. He runs the House through fear and intimidation of fellow Republicans and lobbyists. The speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, is a puppet of Delay/Rove/Cheney/Bush, and has the least power of any House Speaker that I can think of. He was a major force behind the disgraceful impeachment process of 1998. And he has a nickname: The Hammer.
On the Democratic side, we have Nancy Pelosi. Some people even know what she looks like.
OK, so I'm being a little too hard on Nancy. And maybe I am missing something. But seriously, since we often compare 2006 with 1994, does anybody view her as the next Gingrich? Newt was a prominent public presence for many years pre-1994. Granted, Pelosi has only been minority leader for 2.5 years, but still, I would think I would hear more from her. Richard Gephardt may not have been the greatest House Democratic Leader of all time, but he had a relatively strong public presence. Perhaps Pelosi needs more time in the job to fully establish her as a strong public leader.
Still, it's hard to be encouraged. Harry Reid has established a strong presence in less than 6 months as Senate Minority Leader. It is true that the Senate is more prestigious than the House. However, Tom Delay is a more prominent figure than Bill Frist is.
But a more important question is this. What power does Pelosi really have?
My feeling is that it isn't as much as one would think. An example is the bankruptcy bill, a bill that I vehemently opposed. Many Democrats unfortunately crossed party lines to support the bill. Pelosi read them the riot act and even implied that they may have competition for the seats.
The response from the dissident Democrats was one of anger and included a demand for an apology. Clearly, Pelosi didn't have any effect on them like Tom Delay would have on dissident Republicans. Her power seemed minimal, and the dissidents seemed to look at her like a joke
In addition, Pelosi's most notable attempt at a power play was petty and inept. In order to get back at DNC Chair Candidate Martin Frost, who ran against her for the minority leader position in 2003, she convinced Tim Roemer to run for DNC Chair, with the support of Harry Reid. Roemer's pro-life position was not compatible with becoming DNC Chair, and was quickly exposed, indicating that Pelosi had not really done her homework. He wasn't a great candidate to begin with, though he did a credible job on the 9/11 Commission. His candidacy went nowhere.
And for what? A grudge against Martin Frost. Nobody else in the world cares, but Pelosi had to inject it into a critical race for DNC leadership for no apparent strategic benefit. What a waste of time. I think that Harry Reid probably wakes up everyday wondering "Why did I follow Nancy on that one?"
In conclusion, I don't think Nancy Pelosi has that much of a power base right now. And her attempts to build one and lead the Democrats in the House forward have fallen flat to date. I do hope that she develops a stronger voice as Minority Leader, and helps the party move back to the majority. Only time will tell.