Is This the End of Nancy Pelosi?

Nancy Pelosi’s reign as Speaker of the House is just about over, and her political career might be, too. Here’s what people are saying about her:

• The conventional wisdom is that Pelosi will retire, writes John Bresnahan of Politico. Though much of the blame for yesterday’s losses has been heaped on Obama, “within the Democratic party, many fingers will be pointed at Pelosi,” who “gambled the House on a hard-core liberal legislative program.”

• “Poppycock,” retorts ex-Pelosi staffer Michael Yaki in the Huffington Post. “Nancy Pelosi is a fighter.” She’ll run for minority leader, and probably win—after all, it’s basically the same caucus that elected her in the first place. “Don't bet against her being speaker again, sooner, rather than later.”
• “Pelosi probably deserved better than this,” laments Steve Kornacki of Salon. She had some tremendous accomplishments, but “Congress is a funny, insular place. Mastering it the way Pelosi did is an art that is much more a liability than an asset with voters.”