Don't Call Her Madam President

In her latest Political Points commentary, CBS News Senior Political Editor Dotty Lynch sits down for a talk with the leading Democrat in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California.

"There's no way I'd ever run for president. My colleagues elected me leader because they knew my only agenda was to act on their behalf. I have a two- to four-year plan to get a Democratic majority in the House and become Speaker. And I have no interest in being vice president either."

The answer was unequivocal. The problem was that the question was whether she thought Hillary Clinton would run for president someday. Following the interview, her vigilant press secretary Brendan Daly explained that she gets asked the "P" question all the time; and, in truth, I had said the word "Hillary" a bit under my breath.

The Speaker-in-potentia occupies office H-204, which once belonged to Democratic House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill. The last time I was in that office 20 years ago, it had the clubby, musty feel of the man who chomped cigars and wanted to help the little guy. Pelosi says she hopes to continue his "proud legacy and all he fought for." But the office now resembles an elegant, though bare, San Francisco mansion. The imposing walls are a bright navy blue with gleaming white high ceilings and there's a lavish bouquet of petal pink roses and peonies on the coffee table.

The only decorations on the walls are empty picture hangers. "I have not even had time to select paintings," she sighs. Her first five months in office have been crammed with hiring new staff, picking new leaders for the DCCC and other party posts (including several other California liberals), formulating new rules for making committee assignments and finding a "different way" of leading.

Pelosi is the first woman to lead a political party in Congress and she started out with a measure of skepticism, even from members of her own party. But she has won praise from some of the newer House members for not strictly following the seniority system in making appointments. She says she's proud she put the first African American woman, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, on the powerful Ways and Means Committee; a freshman, Dutch Ruppersberger, on the Intelligence Committee; and a Latina, Hilda Solis, on the Commerce Committee.

She says the Republicans have "no respect for the concerns of half the country, they have shut down debate in the House" and she dreams about "what we could do if we were in charge."

As for Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom Delay, Pelosi says she "gets along fine" with them personally, although they don't agree on much. And, she adds, the "atmosphere is a lot rougher than when Tip was around." Talk radio has trivialized the process, she says, and there are more attacks and more direct mail letters carrying those attacks.

Pelosi was too busy last week to see any of the Hillary Clinton interviews or to read her book, only glancing at some of the reviews. "I'm a legislative leader by day, a political leader by night," she explained. She had been in New York and Atlanta raising money for the DCCC, which has a budget of $60 million this cycle, earlier in the week before coming back to Washington. She is one of the wealthiest members of Congress but has little time to enjoy her multi-million dollar vineyards in northern California, which she owns jointly with her husband Paul.

Pelosi is the most feminine of women. At 63, she still looks like Marlo Thomas' That Girl, to whom she was compared in the early days of her political career, and she clearly pays attention to her appearance. Her staff often remarks on her shoes and told The New York Times that the click, click, click of high heels on the marble floors is the sound they listen for to know that the boss is on the way.

But she waves off a question about whether she gets the barrage of comments and advice about her looks that other women politicians have received. "I have no time for it," she says. She thinks her love of the political fray comes from being a very secure person. "I know who I am and why I'm here," which is to deal with a host of core Democratic issues – children, the environment, preserving Medicare, etc.

Her biggest problem last Thursday seemed to be a lack of time. An Intelligence Committee briefing caused her to blow off the prime minister of Thailand, and maybe most painfully, cost her the last piece of chocolate cake from Charlie Rangel's office birthday party. "They didn't even save me a piece," she complained.

At that point, the difference between the dainty Pelosi and her role model O'Neill became clear. No way would Tip miss that last piece of chocolate cake and no way would his staff ever forget to leave him one.