A Woman's Life, Illustrated - By Connie Schultz

December 14, 2018 4:05 am

“Trump wants her to be speaker. It’s perfect for him.” — Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., of #FiveWhiteGuys fame, disparaging Nancy Pelosi in early November

She looks so poised, so harmless, this 78-year-old grandmother with the soft voice, the easy smile. Such a smart strategy for the most powerful woman in America. So many have underestimated her — at their peril, pretty much always.

She sits perched on the edge of the upholstered sofa, her back ramrod straight. She is the sole woman in a meeting with three men. One of them, her Democratic counterpart in the Senate, sits across from her. Another, the president of the United States, faces both of them. The third man is willfully mute, his face frozen like a broken jack-in-the-box. He is the vice president.

She begins the meeting with her hands folded on her lap. Soon enough, they are piercing the air to accent the main points of the day’s lesson for the student who has always refused to do his homework. It’s caught up with him, and they both know it.

No matter how many times her student calls her “Nancy,” she responds by calling him “Mr. President.” She is aware of the gaggle of journalists in the room, capturing this for live broadcast. She knows what it means to be a leader for the American people. She is there to represent us, and her demeanor is an acknowledgment of the honor.

She and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are there to prevent a government shutdown — and to force the president to own the blame should it happen. They reportedly had no idea when they arrived that Donald Trump would turn what is traditionally a quick smile-and-greet for the press into a verbal brawl for all the world to see.

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