Never before has a new speaker entered office on such a sour note as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Her vigorous and totally rejected campaign for Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) supports widespread cloakroom sentiment that she is not qualified for her high office and is there because of her gender and the support of the huge California delegation.

• "Never before..." Never? Not even once before in the entire history of the Republic? I guess I find that a little hard to believe, given the rough-and-tumble nature of American politics during some eras.
  
  What this is, is a statement made for rhetorical purposes, not a statement of fact or rational analysis.



• "...has a new speaker entered office..." Gee, Bob, haven't you noticed that Pelosi hasn't entered office yet? Damn, those little details are so darn hard to keep track of, aren't they?



• So we're supposed to believe that Pelosi was put in office by a bunch of men because she's a woman, and because the California delegation has a lot of clout, but not enough clout, apparently, to elect Murtha to a subsidiary position? Is there a shred of logic to this contention?
  
  Hey, Robert, sweetie, how about this, darling -- the Democrats elected Pelosi Speaker for the next Congress because she's done a good job as Minority Leader and there was no reason to make a change, and they elected Hoyer not as a rejection of Pelosi, but because more of them preferred Hoyer to Murtha. Whaca think of that, bubby?
  
  Too complicated, Bob, people voting for the candidate they prefer? We call it democracy, Bobbie, and it's no wonder you forgot what it is and how it works, considering that your people seem to be allergic to it and work their little tushies off trying to undercut and subvert it whenever possible.

Just so everyone recalls, Novak's prediction for the outcome of the election was:

House: Democrats 222 - Republicans 213
Senate: Democrats 47 - Republicans 53

Wooooo-eeee, that's some good predictin', Bobby boy. Congrats especially on that Senate, thing, hon.