Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Some say her act was a sign of courage. She took a solid position on what she thought was best and she stuck with it through to the very end -- no apologies, no excuses. That's what leaders do. Of course they can't win every battle.

Others, including the mainstream media and conservative bloggers, have pointed out that Hoyer's win was a 'devastating' defeat for Pelosi -- one that might set the stage for Democratic infighting or serve as a hobbling message to Speaker Pelosi. Clearly this is the easiest tack for media outlets to take. It's simply more exciting to the average reader to hear about such drama. That Pelosi has 'great leadership skills' would seem far less interesting for the majority of the consuming public.

So off they ago...

The AP notes Pelosi's own election is being largely "overshadowed by Murtha's defeat,"

The USA Today says "the next speaker of the House lost her first test Thursday."

Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post that Pelosi "experienced her first smackdown." It "should have been a coronation," but "instead, her party...plunged into fratricide."

The Los Angeles Times wrote "Pelosi's Early Setback Has Her Party On Alert," and says Democrats "gave Pelosi a brusque lesson in the limits of her power." Hoyer "didn't merely defeat Murtha, Pelosi's strong preference, but trounced him."

On the CBS Evening News, Bob Schieffer said the Murtha-Hoyer debate "has raised real questions about [Pelosi's] judgment."

The Washington Post says the vote "was viewed by many in the party as a repudiation of Pelosi's strong-arm tactics."

The Baltimore Sun reports California Rep. Maxine Waters, "a Hoyer supporter, said Pelosi's campaign...had raised serious questions within the party. 'What most people didn't understand was the why's of it all,' Waters said."

And the New York Times notes "some supporters of Mr. Murtha...were disgruntled and said they were trying to identify lawmakers who had broken pledges to support him. 'We won't trust them on issues like this the next time,' said Representative James P. Moran, a Murtha ally from Virginia who said Mr. Murtha had been betrayed."

Perhaps next time, Speaker Pelosi will deal with such internal matters more subtly and behind closed doors as much as possible. After all, she had relatively little to gain and much to lose from making this such an unnecessarily public debate.