Nancy Pelosi| Being Speaker to the Obama White House Is a Dirty, Rotten Job but Somebody's Got To Do It

Last week’s Public Strategies Inc./POLITICO poll brought grim news for Pelosi, revealing that only a quarter of Americans trust the San Francisco Democrat. Politico says this puts her in the basement with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).

Pelosi simply doesn’t care about polls and doesn’t run them for herself. Fellow politicos confirm that when they include Pelosi in their own polling, she bombs out there, too. Politico uses the word ‘despise’ to describe the public’s relationship with the Speaker, with no explanation.

People close to Pelosi say she takes all the hits for Obama. Senate majority leader Harry Reid is typically nowhere to be found. “She doesn’t mind that role, but it certainly doesn’t help her personally,” said one Democratic strategist. “She’s the tactician — you always need someone to be driving the bus —it’s about forward motion, not popularity.”