Nancy Pelosi didn't make the cover of TIME magazine when she became the first female speaker of the House in 2007, the most powerful political position a woman in this country has ever held. She didn't make the cover when she held the Democratic caucus together in 2010 for an extremely difficult vote that finally overhauled the country’s health care system after more than a half century of failed efforts. She didn't even make it after she delivered a term as speaker during the 111th Congress that continues to stand as among the most consequential in a generation of speakers.
Meanwhile, Pelosi watched her GOP counterparts in the House and Senate, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, grace the cover that had eluded her. Nevertheless, she persisted.
Boehner went on to turn in an almost inconceivably lackluster performance as speaker, barely managing to keep the government's lights on during the next three congresses. But hey, at least he wasn't convicted pedophile Dennis Hastert, Pelosi's predecessor.
As speakers go, Pelosi proved to be one of the best vote-counters and most prolific fundraisers of the lawmakers who have wielded the gavel. She was arguably the most dominant lawmaker of the Obama era despite her two short years in the House majority, with McConnell coming in at a close second based on the amount of legislation his caucus was able to block in the Senate.
We may be headed for a Pelosi-McConnell match up yet again if Democrats manage to retake the House this November. The only thing better, of course, would be a Pelosi/Schumer-run Congress.
TIME seems to have finally grasped just how influential Pelosi has proven to be on the national stage, and the legacy she will leave once she exits it. Better late than never.
Check out the cover below.
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