Fight for Your Right to Party

There's a bit of a hubbub over Nancy Pelosi's plan to commemorate her inauguration as the first woman Speaker of the House. I'm not sure if it started with this story in yesterday's Washington Post, but it paints the occasion in a pretty bad light, talking about "four days of celebration." When I first heard about it, I thought it sounded a bit excessive, but I then I went to the trouble of finding out exactly what was scheduled.

The inauguration itself is on Thursday, January 4. So is that when the partying starts? Uh, no. Things get going for Nancy on Tuesday, January 2, when she returns to the Baltimore neighborhood where she grew up, goes to church, and has dinner with her family. Party on, Nancy! So the real fun starts on Wednesday, right? If going to Mass is you idea of fun, then I guess so. She does become a bit more social as the day progresses, with a scheduled tea for 400 political women. In the evening, there's dinner at the Italian embassy, with entertainment provided by Tony Bennett. (We can only guess what he might perform. "I left my heart--thanks for remembering! --'cisco.") That brings us to Thursday, when she will actually be inaugurated into office. But that's preceded by church once again (nondenominational, this time), and then a brunch (with hundreds in attendance). The big event follows next, and that will be followed by an honest-to-god fund-raiser party. The week of events culminates on Friday, with an open house (by invitation) in a Senate office building.

In hearing it described as "four days of celebration," it does sound like it's a bit much. But when we find out precisely what's planned, it doesn't seem quite so unreasonable. Even Republican consultant reveals his hand when he tries to insult Pelosi. "'What? No fireworks?' he said. 'I'm glad they canceled the tickertape parade. They probably couldn't find biodegradable tickertape and a hybrid convertible.'" In pointing out the festivities that are not being planned, he tacitly admits that what is planned isn't so extreme.

Jonathan Singer at MyDD argues that Pelosi is doing precisely what she should be. So far, Nancy Pelosi isn't a household name, and many voters are not overly familiar with her. By putting herself into the spotlight, she defines herself before her opponents get a chance to define her themselves. This allows her to introduce herself to the American people on her own terms rather than waiting for those terms to be dictated by the Republicans.