Majority report

Election '06 | Nancy Pelosi promises big changes if she’s elected speaker—but no impeachment hearings | Mark Bergin

Throughout this election season, Republican pundits have warned voters that a Democratic takeover of Congress would shift Washington's primary focus from attacking terrorists to attacking the GOP. Instead of tracking bank accounts of foreign despots or eavesdropping on devilish communiqués, Democratic leaders, Republicans charge, would logjam the legislature with endless hearings to investigate Vice President Dick Cheney's secret energy task force meetings and President George W. Bush's purportedly impeachable offenses.

The supposed ringmaster for that potential GOP nightmare of a circus: Nancy Pelosi.

But the California congresswoman and House Democratic leader has sought to soften her image in recent weeks, setting aside the revenge-driven vitriol rampant among her San Francisco constituents—and many far-left Democrats nationwide. During a 60 Minutes interview with Leslie Stahl on Oct. 22, Pelosi pledged, "Impeachment is off the table." She called such proceedings a waste of time and said making Bush and Cheney lame ducks is good enough for her.