NBC "The Today Show" - Transcript

Interview

MS. VIEIRA: Let's get some reaction from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking Democrat in the United States. She is also the author of a new book called "Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters."

Madame Speaker, good morning to you.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Good morning, Meredith.

MS. VIEIRA: You were listening very closely to the president of Iran.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Yes.

MS. VIEIRA: What did you think of what he said?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, first, I was chilled by his sort of smirk and laughter when he was talking about -- was asked about the processing of nuclear materials. That is no laughing matter. So I don't know what his point was there. But, as was mentioned by Brian (Williams), this does represent an opening in terms of him saying he'll try to find common ground.

MS. VIEIRA: Right. Well, he says -- he questions whether the opening is real or maybe just more U.S. tricks. So let me turn that question around to you. When you listen to him, how much of what he says do you actually believe?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, first of all, I see it in the context of where we are on this. This is not just the United States. It was leadership -- countries from all over the world who sent him a letter saying, "If you wish to cooperate, there are some good things that can come your way. And if you want to go down that path, we'd like to sit down and talk about that."

So hopefully he knows a good thing when he hears it, because while he may talk about having friends in the world, the fact is that the world must come together to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

MS. VIEIRA: But are you glad that we have sent a high-ranking diplomat --

SPEAKER PELOSI: Oh, yes.

MS. VIEIRA: -- to deal with these negotiations?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Absolutely. I think that is very important -- remove all doubt or any excuse that he may have that there hasn't been some engagement, some communication. But it's not just the United States. Mind you, it's many countries, leading countries in the world, coming together. So he --

MS. VIEIRA: And forcing his hand, essentially, yes.

SPEAKER PELOSI: And just saying, "If you say you don't want a bomb, then there's a way to prove that."

MS. VIEIRA: Let's go back to the economy, because that is the number one issue in the minds of most Americans. Yesterday Senator McCain was asked whether Wall Street was to blame for the downturn, and he said -- I'm quoting now -- "I think there's a lot of blame to go around here. But I would also blame a gridlocked Congress, which is gridlocked as we speak when we should be doing offshore drilling." That was really a dig at you for not allowing that issue to come to a vote on the floor.

How much do you believe Congress bears responsibility for the downturn in the economy?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, let's say this. There are cycles to economies. But the fact is, the president of the United States -- it's on his watch that this economy is going in this direction. We've had bad fiscal policy where the president has taken us deeply into debt in terms of our budget. We've had a focus on giving tax cuts to the wealthiest people in our country instead of investing more in new technologies and the rest to grow our economy.

But the very idea that the Republicans would say, "But for offshore drilling, our economy would be great," is really -- is a hoax, is really a hoax on the American people. First of all, it will not bring down the price at the pump for 10 years, and only two cents at that.

Second of all, the jobs numbers, the fragility of our financial institutions, the downturn in the capital markets, all of these things -- the energy prices, to reiterate -- all of these things contributing to that. And these are the economic policies of the Bush administration, which has failed. And we have to take the country in a new direction.

MS. VIEIRA: And I want to talk about some of the promises you made when you first became House speaker in 2007, and also about your book. We've run out of time in this half-hour. So will you stick around in the second half?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Oh, yes, my pleasure.

MS. VIEIRA: Thank you.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you.

(Programming break.)

MS. VIEIRA: If you think a woman's place is in the house, you're right -- sort of. Nancy Pelosi used to be a stay-at-home mom until her daughter said, "Mom, get a life." So she ran for Congress, she won, and she eventually became the first woman ever to rise to the position of speaker of the House. And now she's written a new book urging young women everywhere to reach for their dreams. It is called "Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters."

Madame Speaker, thank you so much --

SPEAKER PELOSI: My pleasure.

MS. VIEIRA: -- for sticking around.

SPEAKER PELOSI: (Inaudible.)

MS. VIEIRA: You write in this book about your rise to one of the most powerful positions in the country. But you say that your path was your path, and everybody's path is going to be different.

SPEAKER PELOSI: That's right.

MS. VIEIRA: So what is your message to young women? How should they set their priorities as they set out?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, that's up to them. That's really my message too. And people, young women, say to me all the time, "Should I have my family first and then build my career? Should I do my career first?" And it's what works for them. Their timing is what's important. And, you know, every way is a good way, again, keeping your priorities aligned and knowing your power, knowing that if you're home taking care of your children, you're building skills, forging discipline, learning --

MS. VIEIRA: It's not just knowing it. It's really believing it.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Believing it.

MS. VIEIRA: You know, because there are people who will be naysayers in the process along the way.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, that's true. And the thing is that I never set out on any course to run for public office, or certainly to be speaker of the House. Just one thing led to another. I was ready, informed and the rest when opportunities presented themselves. But I had confidence in myself. And if you do, then other people -- if you know your power, other people will know your power.

MS. VIEIRA: You know, Democrats are a majority in the Congress right now, but you are definitely a minority in terms of your gender. Have you dealt with sexism within Congress?

SPEAKER PELOSI: I think sexism is all-pervasive in our society, getting less so. The next generation and the next generation are less prone to that. But I don't make a big issue of it because I could either deal with that -- I just deal with it by outperforming or outworking or just succeeding in what I'm doing and hoping to gain the respect of my colleagues for what I do. And if they still have a problem with sexism, that's their problem. I can't make it be my problem. I won't be held up by it.

MS. VIEIRA: In the book you talk about when you accepted your position as speaker of the House, and you quoted from the speech. You said that "This is a historic moment for the Congress and for women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited over 200 years for our daughters and granddaughters. Today we have broken the marble ceiling."

We had a woman running for president, Hillary Clinton, and everybody talked about breaking the ceiling. Did we miss an opportunity by not nominating her?

SPEAKER PELOSI: I think that Hillary Clinton's candidacy took giant strides for women, for her and for other women as well, by dint of her intellect, her eloquence, her stamina, her political will. She showed that a woman can compete to be president of the United States. So I see it as a giant plus. I'm also proud of her. And as I said to my colleagues, Hillary Clinton has emerged from this presidential campaign as probably the most respected political figure in America.

MS. VIEIRA: I know when you were asked quite a while ago whether she should be the running mate with Barack Obama, whether that was likely, this dream ticket, you said you thought that was an impossibility. Do you still feel that way?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, what I said was the following, is that we didn't know at the time which person would be the nominee, and it has always been the prerogative of the nominee to choose his or her vice presidential candidate. And I didn't think we should be dictating to Hillary Clinton, the first woman, whom she should choose -- remember, because it was Hillary; it was one way or another -- whom she should choose, nor dictating to the first African-American presidential nominee whom he should choose. I think that -- I don't think that it will happen.

MS. VIEIRA: You do not think it'll happen.

SPEAKER PELOSI: I don't think it will happen.

MS. VIEIRA: And I know you're going to be meeting with Senator Obama and other members of the House this week to talk about issues and priorities during this fall campaign. What do you think his number one priority should be?

SPEAKER PELOSI: Well, our first responsibility as elected officials is to keep the American people safe; so national security and public safety, first responsibility. But in terms of on the domestic side, I think the economic security of America's families -- jobs, health care, the education of our children. And, of course, energy figures into that.

But I'm very pleased with how the campaign is going. I think we have to take the country in a new direction. People are concerned about losing their jobs, their homes, their standard of living. And I think that there's bipartisan reason to believe that we can work together to make things better.

MS. VIEIRA: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, thank you so much.

SPEAKER PELOSI: Thank you.

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