Rep. Pelosi poised to make history

Brian Williams Anchor & “Nightly News” managing editor • Profile

WASHINGTON - Tuesday's election was one for the history books, in so many ways. The nation has a new presumptive speaker of the House, the first woman in that job. And as Nancy Pelosi reminded us when we sat down with her in the Capitol building today, she's the first Italian-American as well. What follows is a transcript of our conversation.

Brian Williams: Leader, thank you for doing this.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.: My pleasure!  Thank you for coming down! I'm honored.

Williams: You are referring to yourself as presumptive leader?

Pelosi: Speaker-elect, he called me.

Williams: Tell us about, first of all, your phone call from the president, I understand at an early hour this morning. How much sleep had you both had?

Pelosi: I don't know about the president, I understand he goes to bed early. I don't know if he did last night, on election night, but I didn't have much sleep, but I didn't need much. I was very exhilarated by the outcome of the election — the Democratic victory.

Williams: Would you concur with the president that the call was cordial?

Pelosi: Oh, yes, the call was friendly. He extended a hand of friendship, which I reciprocated, and told him what I had said earlier in the evening, that I look forward to working with him in partnership, not in partisanship, and that we have important challenges that we have to address in a bipartisan way to help the American people.

Williams: Leader, what does "drain the swamp" mean?

Pelosi: "Drain the swamp" means to turn this Congress into the most honest and open Congress in history. That's my pledge — that is what I intend to do.

Williams: What about last night's result gives you a mandate to do it?

Pelosi: One of the reasons people gave when they exited polls yesterday, but more importantly, one of the sentiments that I think in a bipartisan way was shared across our country, is a need for more honesty and integrity in government. Also more civility and bipartisanship. And that, again, is part of our way — we'll go forward with civility, with honesty, with integrity and with fiscal discipline. No new deficit spending, no new bridges to nowhere, heaping mountains of debt on our children. 

Williams: You woke up this morning, called for new civilian leadership at the Pentagon. You got it. Mr. Rumsfeld will be replaced. What, in terms of the way politics works, what do you give them?

Pelosi: What do we give them?

Williams: For Rumsfeld?

Pelosi: Well, the point is they responded to voice and vote of the American people, [who] resoundingly rejected the policy and the implementation of it. They weren't responding to Democrats, they were responding to American people and to the military — Navy, Army, Marine Corps and Air Force Times all said on Monday, Rumsfeld must go.

Williams: Are you hyper-aware of the need to be seen getting along, at least avoiding this partisan conflict that has so marked the last few years?

Pelosi: Well, I may be hyper-aware of it, but that is my inclination. I came to Congress 19 years ago to debate the great ideas, to work for the benefit of the people and to find common ground in a bipartisan way. Stand our ground when we don't find it on principle. But this fierce partisanship really does not do justice to the vows of our founders or the wishes of the American people.

Williams: I'm guessing it's not lost on the Democrats, that as quickly as power was gained last night, it can be lost again in two years, depending on how it's handled.

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