But Gingrich's tenure as speaker also ushered in the intense partisanship that has soured debate in Washington. And, perhaps more alarming to Pelosi, Gingrich's speakership was a failure for his party: Gingrich gave Clinton a priceless foil — a rival whose petulance made Clinton seem steady and presidential.

Gingrich's shutdown of the government in a budget dispute, and his politically tone-deaf complaints about being asked to exit Air Force One from the rear door, suggested an ego out of control. And as Gingrich's popularity plunged, Clinton's rose and he cruised to an easy re election.

So one lesson for Pelosi is that the House speaker isn't the president, and shouldn't try to present himself or herself as the president's equal. (Gingrich, in another politically disastrous move, asked for network television time to deliver his own State-of-the-Union-type address.)

No matter how distrustful people are of the president, they still recognize that he is the nation's chief executive. No speaker — elected by a majority of the House — can compete with the president's nationally elected mandate, and no speaker can take away the president's platform for presenting his agenda.