This is What a Speaker Looks Like

Congratulations to Nancy Pelosi!

The excitement is catching and lots of fun even for me--and I'm pretty neutral on Pelosi.

Why does it matter? Well, her breaking the marble ceiling, as they're calling it, matters because studies have shown that once women occupy something like 30% of elected positions, the agenda does start to change. One woman doesn't--can't--change congressional agendas. But we're still woefully behind in government and so symbolic victories matter because they pave the way to the day when women make up closer to half of elected officials. Then, the thing that the suffragettes hoped for a century ago may begin to happen: more attention to health, education, and affordable housing, and, just maybe, a government less enamored with war...