Shadow Presidency

“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered an excellent demonstration [last week] of why members of Congress should not attempt to supplant the secretary of state when traveling abroad. After a meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Ms. Pelosi announced that she had delivered a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that ‘Israel was ready to engage in peace talks’ with Syria. What’s more, she added, Mr. Assad was ready to ‘resume the peace process’ as well... Only one problem: The Israeli prime minister entrusted Ms. Pelosi with no such message. ‘What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel,’ said a statement quickly issued by the prime minister’s office. In fact, Mr. Olmert told Ms. Pelosi that ‘a number of Senate and House members who recently visited Damascus received the impression that despite the declarations of Bashar Assad, there is no change in the position of his country regarding a possible peace process with Israel.’ In other words, Ms. Pelosi not only misrepresented Israel’s position but was virtually alone in failing to discern that Mr.Assad’s words were mere propaganda... The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president. Two weeks ago Ms. Pelosi rammed legislation through the House of Representatives that would strip Mr.Bush of his authority as commander in chief to manage troop movements in Iraq. Now she is attempting to introduce a new Middle East policy that directly conflicts with that of the president. We have found much to criticize in Mr. Bush’s military strategy and regional diplomacy. But Ms. Pelosi’s attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.”
—The Washington Post