USA Today: Pelosi attacks ‘failed Republican path’
Today's edition of USA Today covers Speker Pelosi's speech last night to the convention:
Pelosi attacks 'failed Republican path'
DENVER - The Democrat-controlled Congress has set the country on a better path, but the renewal won't be complete without Barack Obama in the White House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told convention delegates Monday night.
With congressional job approval ratings at a record low, the country's first female speaker used her address to recount what she believes are the accomplishments of the 110th Congress, from increasing the minimum wage to expanding college aid.
She also sharply attacked Republican presidential nominee John McCain, saying the war in Iraq, which McCain supported and Obama opposed, was 'a catastrophic mistake that has cost thousands of lives ... and over a trillion dollars.' She said the war 'has weakened our standing in the world and our capability to protect the American people.'
Since Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007, they passed the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, sent billions in aid to the hurricane-damaged Gulf Coast, funded economic stimulus checks to 130 million families and toughened standards on toxic toys, said Pelosi, who is from San Francisco.
'But our journey to take our nation in a new direction cannot be complete without new leadership in the White House,' she said. 'Democrats know we can't afford any more of the same failed Republican path.' She added: 'Republicans say John McCain has experience. We say, John McCain has the experience of being wrong.'
Five times, she repeated the refrain: 'Barack Obama is right and John McCain is wrong.'
Pelosi, 68, has won high marks for her speakership from analysts such
as congressional scholar Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute.
But among the public she is not popular. A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll
found that 38% of Americans had a favorable opinion of her, down from 45% last
April.
As she began her speech, Pelosi thanked Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying, 'Our party and our country are strengthened by her candidacy.'
Later, she also seemed to speak to voters who have expressed concerns to pollsters and journalists about Obama's faith, background and patriotism.
'Barack Obama's values,' Pelosi said, 'are enduring American values.'
I call on you to resist the pressure from the Bush administration to deliver them a $700 billion blank check to address the current economic crisis. We need to address this crisis, but giving $700 billion to the Treasury Secretary to spend as he wishes is stupid.
I urge you to pass legislation with sensible checks and balances that protect the public as hundreds of billions of our taxpayer dollars are used to address the crisis:
1. NO TAXATION withou strong regulation so this doesn’t happen again. Stern public oversight. And, no golden parachutes for CEOs.
2. NO INSIDER DEALING. Wall Street can no longer be allowed to write their own laws. Legislators should refuse campaign money from Wall Street PACs or executives. We need a “time out” on contact between paid Wall Street lobbyists and elected officials while the crisis is addressed. Any congressional meetings with Wall Street officials must be immediately posted on a single website for complete transparency.
Thank you in advance for taking a stand for common sense.