San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Plenty of reasons Pelosi should run for president
We now have close to 20 candidates and potential candidates crisscrossing the country in pursuit of the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, while the one person with the best chance of winning is right in front of us: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Let’s check the list.
She is already the best-known Democrat in the nation.
She has a proven legislative record.
And she has proved that she can unite the party’s disparate factions.
Her election success in leading House Democrats back to power shows she has a grasp of what sells in swing states as well as blue outposts.
And no one can outdo her when it comes to rais
ing money.
Most important, for all the abuse Republicans heap on “San Francisco values,” Pelosi is the one politician President Trump fears.
He’s quick with a condescending nickname for just about all his opponents, but not Pelosi. And with good reason — she dealt him the worst defeat of his presidency when she stood firm as Trump shut down much of the government over Democrats’ refusal to pay for his border wall.
As for issues: The Affordable Care Act, which helped nearly 20 million Americans obtain health care, may be known as Obamacare, but Pelosi is largely responsible for getting it done. That alone speaks louder to America’s middle class than any of the issues being touted by the Democratic candidates.
As an aside, we wouldn’t have to detail any new Secret Service agents to candidate Pelosi. As speaker of the House, she already has about 18 bodyguards.
I know, because they all showed up with her at my birthday party at the Venetian Room the other night.
Past, present, future: It was a real study in contrasts the other night when former Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, were in one room at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre and Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg was in another.
Both events were sold out, but that was about all they had in common.
None of the attendees at the Brown event looked to be under 65. None of the attendees at the Buttigieg event looked to be over 45.
The Buttigieg people took the stairs. The Brown crowd lined up for the elevators.
I have to say, Buttigieg turned out to be a refreshing break from some of the other candidates making the rounds. But then, how can a gay, Harvard-educated, Rhodes scholar, Afghan war veteran not be interesting?
I brought tech investor Ron Conway with me to the meet and greet before the appearance. Conway immediately began peppering Buttigieg with questions like he was conducting a job interview. “Why are you running? What are your issues?”
Buttigieg listened for a minute before cutting him off, saying, “With all due respect, that’s what I want to talk about.”
For my money, Buttigieg is the best vice presidential candidate running.
Happy birthday to it: A tip of the hat to Golden Gate Park, which is celebrating its 149th birthday April 4.
It’s one of the few things in the city that are older than I am.
It’s not as famous as New York’s Central Park, but the gap is closing: The 4/20 celebration brings pot smokers from everywhere.
There’s a lot to be said for having a park with something for everybody.
Friends in low places: Congratulations to President Trump for having escaped Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation without being charged with a crime. In the meantime, five ex-Trump aides were convicted of various offenses, and a sixth (Roger Stone) is under indictment.
If Trump rides his vengeance campaign to re-election, as he seems intent on trying to do, he’ll travel down Pennsylvania Avenue for his inauguration in a limo with a license plate made by one of his former friends.