I think this is a good moment to celebrate the contributions of three great leaders now stepping back from the national stage.
Barack Obama made a palpable difference to American politics for which he is justly celebrated, breaking the color line and bringing intelligent analysis to the forefront.
But I don’t think the contributions of Biden and Pelosi have been properly appreciated. And it matters.
Biden’s age wasn’t what bugged Republicans. They hated him because he was so effective. He improved health care, slowed Trump’s tariff-driven inflation, provided jobs and pushed American manufacturing in ways which will bolster America’s future for decades. Republicans despise effective presidents. They prefer ineffective presidents so their corporate patrons can fleece the rest of us. Viva Joe.
They hated Pelosi for what she accomplished. She got the votes to pass the legislation Obama and Biden sought and fought against Bush’s war with Iraq. Some also hated Pelosi because she is a woman. She beat them on policy so they attacked her for her genitals. And they hate Pelosi for orchestrating a transition to Vice President Harris as candidate for president. Nancy Pelosi may have been the most important and effective public servant of our generation. Viva Nancy.
Let me add that few presidents and Speakers of the House have made nearly as much difference as Biden and Pelosi. Neither is young and I don’t know where they found the energy but Biden has made more difference to American law than any president since Lyndon Johnson and made more of a difference than any one-term president or indeed any president who served a mere four years since the assassination of Abe Lincoln.
Past congressional leaders are less well-known to the public than past presidents. But I’d go back to people like Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. Pelosi was not the orator that Daniel Webster was. Her genius was more like Clay’s, finding ways to move a polarized country forward. While we pay attention to presidents, the Constitution put Congress in charge, its legislation supreme above all but the Constitution itself, and with the authority to legislate for both other branches of government, so that presidents can do little without consulting legislation and legislative leaders. The first Congress had 65 representatives and 26 senators. The present Congress has 435 representatives and 100 senators. Pelosi became a master of the dynamics, not just the rules but the people. We owe her a great debt for bringing order out of that crowd.
I’d happily celebrate an Obama-Biden-Pelosi Day. It would represent the value of effective government, government that actually gets things done – government dedicated to the people of America, all the people of America. They are the kind of patriots America deserves. And, despite Trump’s attacks, Obama, Biden and Pelosi laid a foundation that Harris can stand on with pride. She’s well tested by the den of iniquity. And I admire the future first spouse. No hypocrisy there – Kamala doesn’t denigrate people by their ancestry.
Steve Gottlieb’s latest book is Unfit for Democracy: The Roberts Court and The Breakdown of American Politics. He is the Jay and Ruth Caplan Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Albany Law School, served on the New York Civil Liberties Union board, on the New York Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran.
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