60 Minutes: Nancy Pelosi's Thick Skin

October 2, NEW: Nancy Pelosi on The View
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CBS didn't need to tap into any phony documents for this 60 Minutes segment.

This wasn't a hit piece meant to sway a presidential election, like Dan Rather's 2004 story on President Bush's National Guard service.

Mr. Bush had signed a six-year commitment to fly for the Air Guard, and early on, the young pilot got glowing evaluations from his squadron commander, Col. Jerry Killian.

Killian called Lt. Bush "an exceptionally fine young officer and pilot" who "performed in an outstanding manner." That is part of the public record.

But 60 Minutes has obtained a number of documents we are told were taken from Col. Killian's personal file. Among them, a never-before-seen memorandum from May 1972, where Killian writes that Lt. Bush called him to talk about "how he can get out of coming to drill from now through November."

...Col. Killian died in 1984. 60 Minutes consulted a handwriting analyst and document expert who believes the material is authentic.

Robert Strong was a friend and colleague of Col. Killian who ran the Texas Air National Guard administrative office in the Vietnam era. Strong, now a college professor, believes these documents are genuine.

"They are compatible with the way business was done at the time. They are compatible with the man that I remember Jerry Killian being," says Strong. "I don’t see anything in the documents that is discordant with what were the times, what was the situation and what were the people involved."

...In a memo from Aug. 18, 1973, Col. Killian says Col. Buck Staudt, the man in charge of the Texas Air National Guard, is putting on pressure to "sugar coat" the evaluation of Lt. Bush. Staudt, a longtime supporter of the Bush family, would not do an interview for this broadcast.

The memo continues, with Killian saying, "I’m having trouble running interference and doing my job."

What a load of forged crap! But I digress.

Back to tonight's 60 Minutes--

Nancy Pelosi was interviewed by Lesley Stahl.

Although Stahl started off the piece by confronting the House MINORITY leader with her incivilities toward President Bush and Republicans, there were very few tough questions. No "gotcha" stuff at all.

No, this segment wasn't a hit job. It was not meant to destroy Pelosi. This was a coronation.

It was entitled, "Two Heartbeats Away."

Apparently, CBS has not only determined that the Dems will take control of the House, but Pelosi is a lock to be the Speaker. Thus, after the Vice President, she would be next in line to become President -- just two heartbeats away.

That's called counting your chickens before they hatch.

First, the civility issue -- Pelosi promises to restore civility to Washington.

As Stahl points out, that would be quite a trick considering Pelosi has called the Republicans "immoral, corrupt, and running a criminal enterprise."

Pelosi responded with, "When I called them those names I was being gentle."

Good grief.

Stahl then read some of Pelosi's thoughts on Bush, an "incompetent leader," and "not a leader, has no judgment."

Pelosi chuckled like the witch from "Hansel and Gretel," and shrugged that off by saying, "We're professionals."

She said that she has to make a distinction in the public between Republicans and Dems "so we can win."

The real killer: Pelosi said, "This isn’t personal."

She is one icy ... icy one.

Pelosi remarked, "I have very thick skin."

And referring to Republicans, she said, "I don't care what they say about me."

By "thick skin," she of course is speaking metaphorically, meaning she can withstand criticism.

Physically, it's easy to see that Pelosi's skin has been stretched very thin. I really think that was such a mistake for her to mess with her face. Elderly women like her can be very attractive. There's something so undignified about that mask-like look.

She didn't shy away from the fact that she is a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. She takes pride in liberal positions, even though she chose to dodge the gay marriage issue when Stahl asked about it.

On Iraq and Republicans, Pelosi said, "This issue is them. The issue is the war that they got us into."

Right. And what about the majority of the Dems that got us into Iraq? Don't they count? Pelosi has a very selective memory.

She insisted that Iraq has nothing to do with the War on Terror.

"The War on Terror is the war in Afghanistan."

I wish she'd make up her mind on that one.

In June of 2005, Pelosi declared that the war in Afghanistan was over.

Back then, speaking to a reporter, Pelosi said, "I assume that the war in Afghanistan is over, or is the contention that you have that it continues?"

A few moments later, she said: "This isn't about the duration of the war. The war in Afghanistan is over."

The woman is absolutely clueless.

Not long into the 60 Minutes interview, everything turned warm and fuzzy.

Repeatedly, Pelosi kept referring to herself as a mother and grandmother, as if those labels automatically make her kind and nurturing.

She was raised in a strict Catholic family, with five older brothers.

I don't know. Is she a practicing Catholic now?

Since Stahl brought up her Catholic past, she should have asked how Pelosi reconciles that with her rigid pro-abortion positions.

A little later, hubby Paul Pelosi was trotted out.

He's very successful. Pelosi is the eighth richest member of the House. (Cosmetic surgery isn't cheap.)

What did the audience learn about Mr. Pelosi? He buys Nancy's clothes, because she doesn’t like to shop.

I don't see anything wrong with a husband buying his wife an article of clothing now and then, but being in charge of her wardrobe is a bit unusual.

Stahl then talked to daughter Christine and asked how Pelosi rules the roost? Apparently, Mother Pelosi was a drill sergeant.

She was a control freak as a mother and has brought that same discipline to her party, keeping her troops in lockstep, allowing no dissension.

At the end of the interview, Stahl declared, "She's poised to go down in the history books."

Again, isn't that a bit premature?

Yes, it is.

Stahl said, "Nancy Pelosi is tough as nails."

Pelosi preferred to soften her image and remind everyone that she's a mother and grandmother.

Yadda, yadda, yadda.

But Pelosi did say that she's set to "break the marble ceiling" and become Speaker of the House, something that she thinks would help all women.

(Not the ones that are aborted, of course.)

She says that she wants to show that women know how to use power.

Not only is Pelosi dissing Condoleezza Rice, but she's also not giving her fellow lib Madeleine Albright any credit as a female political trailblazer.

Stahl wondered if Pelosi will have trouble reining in the Dems' lust for revenge.

What about impeachment?

Again, she dodged that, which is such a joke. Pelosi has been front and center when it comes to threatening the Bush administration.

Pelosi said a Democratic-controlled House would launch investigations of the administration on energy policy and other matters. She said impeachment would not be a goal of the investigations, but she added: "You never know where it leads to."

Pelosi claims that impeaching George Bush and Dick Cheney is not her goal.

"Making them lame ducks is good enough for me," Pelosi said, trying to crack a smile.

In general, it was a disappointing interview, very low on substance.

Worst of all, Stahl didn't ask the burning questions that most Americans familiar with Pelosi want to know:

Exactly how many surgical procedures did it take to get Pelosi's face to look that way?

When she sleeps, do her eyelids close?