Extreme makeover

Nancy Pelosi will throw herself a four-day party to celebrate her ascension to House Speaker. And, as the Washington Post explains, she’s going to use the coronation to try to shed her image as a San Francisco Democrat. According to the Post, Pelosi “is planning events that will highlight select parts of her personal life while muting her liberal voting record and ideology.”
Pelosi’s plans include visits to Catholic churches in Baltimore and Capitol Hill. It’s not surprising that, in an effort to make-over her image, Pelosi wants to wrap herself in Catholicism, but there’s a certain irony associated with the attempt. Pelosi, after all, is an unabashed proponent of abortion rights, including the right of women to have partial birth abortions. Meanwhile, the Catholic church considers abortion to be murder, plain and simple. I wonder to what extent church authorities are cooperating with Pelosi’s use of their places of worship for a misleading public relations blitz.
UPDATE: Newt Gingrich had two days of ceremony when he became Speaker in 1994. Two extra days in 12 years probably isn’t all that out of line with the political inflation rate. However, according to the Post, Gingrich spent his two days giving speeches “outlining the Contract With America and flesh[ing] out the ideology of the Republican revolution.” Apparently, he did not devote the time to a series of symbolic acts such as wrapping himself in a religion whose dogma he considered unacceptable.
Meanwhile, Steny Hoyer, the new House majority leader and Pelosi’s rival, plans to celebrate by hosting a small reception in his office.
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