What is WaPo Talking about?

The Washington Post has a story today about how Nancy Pelosi plans to celebrate her new speakership and, I assume, the Democrats taking back the majority. They describe it as an attempt to remake her image in the eyes of non-Democrats as not being a "San Francisco Liberal" (I still can't figure out what's wrong with that label?).

More...

The article quotes a Penn. professor...

"This is important strategic repositioning," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, who teaches political communication and rhetoric at the University of Pennsylvania. "Essentially, she's trying to embody the Democratic Party that she would like to offer the nation in 2008."

And makes it's own summations...

In her meticulous selection of events and venues during a week when she expects to attract media attention from as far away as Australia, Pelosi is clearly trying to bury the label "San Francisco liberal" that Republicans tried to affix to her during the midterm elections.

And...

Pelosi's mission is entirely different [reffering to Gingrich's in '95]. She is planning events that will highlight select parts of her personal life while muting her liberal voting record and ideology.

This is the basis of their case that Pelosi is trying to move away from her liberal label. And what is "... her meticulous selection of events and venues ..."?

The day after New Year's Day, Pelosi will visit Albermarle Street in Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood, where she grew up as the daughter and sister of Baltimore mayors. The current mayor, Maryland Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley (D), will rename Albermarle "Via Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi." She will drop by St. Leo the Great Roman Catholic Church and then eat dinner with her extended family at an Italian restaurant.

On Jan. 3, Pelosi will attend morning Mass at Trinity University, her alma mater in Washington, and then attend a tea in the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium for about 400 female politicians, supporters and activists. In the evening, she will be honored at a dinner at the Italian Embassy, where Bennett will perform.

The next day, Pelosi will participate in a nondenominational service at St. Peter's Catholic Church on Capitol Hill and then eat brunch with hundreds of supporters at the Cannon House Office Building and the Library of Congress.

Finally, on Jan. 5, Pelosi will hold what she is calling the "People's House" open house at the Cannon House Office Building. But it will be less welcoming than it sounds -- the event is by invitation only.

Going home to see here family and home town? Wow, what a bold move to the right, although I think she is going to have to tell her extended family not to come, we all know how narrow the right-wing definition of family is. Working women and Tony Bennett? Another clever attempt at distancing herself from liberals, I guess. Is going to church conservative? A nondenominational service? Is it because liberals don't turn away or judge people who don't go (well, most of us don't)? Are any liberal Christians offended by this? Or do you just take it in stride?

They quote the prof. again...

"...'San Francisco liberal' is a construct used very effectively for a long time by Republicans"...

But they fail to A) mention that the country voted for liberals and progressives in the latest elections, not conservatives and B) even raise the question of the effectiveness of right-wing rhetoric such as this in the wake of the '06 elections. It is my opinion that the rights strangle hold on the debate in this country is over. Joe Scarborough has guests who are calling Bush "delusional" and seriously discussing impeachment without question or argument from anyone on the show!

It appears they only quote from the Pelosi camp is...

Brendan Daly, Pelosi's spokesman, said the four-day celebration befits a historic moment in American politics. "We've never had a woman speaker before," Daly said. "This is a big deal."

While they quote Democratic strategists, and of course they get the obligatory Republican reaction, it appears that they conjure this whole moving away from liberals thing from the fact that she is visiting her family, her hometown(which is "blue collar"), and going to church.

I don't believe there is any one single bias in the media, I am very liberal so almost all media seems right of me. But this article seems to be reaching with perhaps just a bit of an agenda. Since the writer did not quote heavily from Pelosi's camp, if anyone has more "inside dope" please share it.