A master of calculation, Pelosi knew it was time

When Nancy Pelosifirst ran for Congress, she was one of 4 candidates, the front-runner anda target.

- MARK Z. BARABAK COLUMNIST

At the time, Pelosi was little known to San Francisco voters. But she was already a fixture in national politics. She was a major Democratic fundraiser, who helped lure the party’s 1984 national convention to her adopted hometown. She served as head of California’s Democratic Party and hosted a salon that wasa must-stop for any politician passing through.

She was the chosen successor of Rep. Sala Burton, a short-timer who took over the House seat held for decades by her late husband, Philip, and who delivered a personal benediction from her deathbed.

But at age 47, Pelosihad never held public office — she was too busy raising five kids, on top ofall that politicalmoving and shaking — and opponents made light ofher role as hostess. “The party girl for the party,” they dubbed her, a taunt that blared from billboards around town.

She obviously showed them.

Pelosi not only made history, becoming the first female speaker of the House. She became the party’s spine and its sinew, holding together the Democrats’ warring factions and standing firm at times the more timorous were prepared to back down.

The Affordable Care Act — President Obama’s signature achievement — would never have passed if Pelosi had not insisted on pressing on when many, including some in the White House, wished to surrender.

She played a significant role in twice helpingrescue the country from economic collapse — the first time in 2009 amid the Great Recession, then in 2020 during the shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic — mustering recalcitrant Democrats to ensure House passage.

“She will go downin history as one of the most important speakers,” James Thurber, a congressional expert at Washington's American University, said.

“She knew the rules, she knew the process, she knew the personalities of the key players, and she knew how to work the system.”