Nancy Pelosi offered her most sharply-worded assessment yet of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Tuesday, comparing the Alaska governor to President Bush and questioning whether she had the "depth" to assume the presidency.
In an interview with MSNBC's John Harwood, the first female House Speaker answered a question about Palin's status as a history-making candidate, saying she was positive "in terms of...her being the first [female] nominee on the Republican ticket," but a poor choice "in terms of policy and the direction our country should go in."
Pelosi compared Palin's resume to that of President Bush's before he assumed the mantle of commander in chief. "I have a very high standard for president of the United States," the Speaker said. "I guess George Bush has proven that anybody can do it, but can they do it well? I think he has not. I think he has done great harm and damage to our country. I don't think this is something that you'd take a chance on. I think I've yet to see the credentials and the depth that the most powerful position in the world, the president of the United States, that somebody with her resume is able to take over that job."
Previously, Pelosi appeared to lay off opportunities to attack Palin directly, preferring to focus on John McCain. Last week, after saying Palin demonstrated "poor judgment" in her answers to questions from Charlie Gibson, Pelosi added "but more importantly, it's poor judgment on the part of John McCain. We're talking about a heartbeat away from the president. He knows better."