John Phillips: The curious case of Nancy Pelosi

Some people have a very hard time taking yes for an answer.

In sales, being able to accept a yes is a cardinal rule.

In fact, there’s an old saying among salesmen:  Don’t sell it to them twice.

Sales expert Michelle Weinstein, who has appeared on CNBC’s Shark Tank, wrote that, “When the customer says YES, it’s a GO. Tell them ‘thank you,’ take their payment, and make it REAL. But don’t let nervous babbling kill the sale. STOP talking, stop selling, and start celebrating.”

While politics isn’t exactly sales, many of the same principles apply.  In a democratic framework, you can’t get what you want unless you’re successful at getting other people on board with whatever you want to do.

Recently, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to the conclusion that President Joe Biden could not win reelection, and would likely cause Democrats to lose control of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.

As a result, she wanted him to drop out of the race and allow a different Democrat to appear on the November ballot.  Biden disagreed, clinging to the belief that he was still electorally viable.

Private conversations took place, pressure was applied, and ultimately Biden gave Pelosi what she wanted and called it quits.

In other words, Pelosi got her yes.

Which is why it’s so bizarre that she continues to go out and shiv him in public every time she has a chance.

Nancy’s done everything to publicly humiliate Joe Biden except cut up his steak for him at mealtime.

Let’s review some of her greatest hits.

On August 5th, Pelosi appeared with CNN’s Dana Bash where she said that she has not spoken to Biden since he dropped out of the presidential race last month.

When asked whether she would like to speak with him in the future, Pelosi said, “Yes.”  But noted that both of them are “busy” people.

“Is everything OK with your relationship?” Bash asked.

“You’d have to ask him, but I hope so,” Pelosi said.

“You’ll have to ask him” is political speak for, “I despise that repulsive lowlife.”

On August 8th, while speaking to the New Yorker, Pelosi said, “I’ve never been that impressed with his political operation…They won the White House.  Bravo.  But my concern was:  this ain’t happening, and we have to make a decision for this to happen.”

On August 11th, Pelosi suggested to the New York Times that Biden didn’t actually write his dropout letter.  “I didn’t accept the letter as anything but a letter. I mean, I mean in another, there are some people who were unhappy with the letter, let me say, some said that some people were unhappy with the letter.  I’ll put it in somebody else’s mouth because it was a…I don’t even know. It didn’t sound like Joe Biden to me. It really didn’t,” she said.

I suppose the feeling was that since the President’s drop-out letter was concise, articulate, and gracious, Joe Biden obviously didn’t write it.

And finally, on August 19th, when told by CNN’s Jake Tapper that Biden and his allies have residual “resentment” and “bad blood” toward Pelosi, she responded by laughing it off and saying, “sometimes you have to take a punch…for the children.”

She then went on to explain, “I did what I had to do… My concern was not about the president, it was about his campaign.”

Ouch.

Biden gave her what she wanted, yet she continues  to humiliate him over and over again…in front of the entire world…and seems to really enjoy doing it.

Luckily Joe Biden doesn’t hold grudges. He can’t, his memory is completely shot.

Truth be told, Pelosi is in the middle of a book tour for a book titled, The Art of Power.  And she’s turning every book signing into a Joe Biden celebrity roast.

Perhaps what she is doing to Biden is nothing personal, and he’s just collateral damage in an effort to sell books.

Biographer Susan Page once said that Pelosi has an iron fist in a Gucci glove.  I guess we now know what she meant.

John Phillips can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on “The John Phillips Show” on KABC/AM 790.