...since the election?

Pelosi has done things I thought were pretty poor judgement - but then, the moves that she made which were quietly effective would tend not to have come to my attention!

I don't think the Dems have anyone better (not that a Speakership election was ever a live possibility).

And she clearly wants the gig. Which, as you say, will be a difficult one.

And, for the next couple of years at least, all her moves, good and bad alike, are going to be dissected in some detail.

Can't wait.

I don't think the netroots have given Pelosi a fair shake yet.  A lot of the complaints about caucus unity, resistance while in the minority, etc. were either overblown or mostly out of her control.

I have just two complaints:

1) When she's been attacked in the media, she hasn't had surrogates out there to defend her.  In particular, some of the overtly sexist attacks need to be called what they are - sexist.  Not having a better defense only reinforces the stereotypes.  She's the first woman speaker of the house ever, and second in line for the Presidency.  She deserves a bit more respect.

2) The Reyes appointment. I'm glad she passed over Harmon and Hastings, but it turns out this guy doesn't know the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims. WTF? The single most important qualification for anyone in intelligence is having at least a basic understanding of the workings of the Muslim world. I mean, geeze, we gotta have higher standards than the Bush administration on this.

She's showing that she's a serious person with serious goals.  She's made it plain that we will have a no-nonsense congress with zero tolerance for corruption.  I think that most everyone will agree with her call for a 5-day congressional work week. I  also think that everyone will agree with the elimination of earmarks. Pelosi presents a businesslike image, which contrasts very favorably with the lazy, corrupt house that she inherits. I'm sure she'll make some mistakes, but her instincts are good, her politics are good, I think even Repubs see her as a breath of fresh air.

The media likes to make Pelosi some woman scorned who carries grudges. A quick look at candidates and their donations to the DCCC shows that beyond the alleged snits and even the policy differences, Nancy Pelosi watches the campaign warchest with an eagle eye.

She can count.  And she acts on this.  Look at the people she gets along with in leadership or near leadership positions.  They all are enough of a team player to make big donations to the DCCC in the last two years (2005 and 2006).  The people on the outs are not team players and make no pretense in hiding it.

DCCC donations by House member for this cycle:

Emanuel  650,000
Pelosi   635,000
Hoyer    620,000
Frank    476,000
Clyburn  470,000
Murtha   410,000
Rangel   385,000
Slaughter320,000
Kennedy  275,000

Tauscher 90,000
Harman  190,000
Meehan  125,000
Jefferson 20,000

All of these individuals gave separately to candidates, other House members and (in many cases) other organizations.  Dollar Bill had a lot more in his freezer than he contributed.  Tauscher claims the "victory" and does little to make it happen.  We all know about Marty Meehan and the humongous stash of cash he left untouched (and grew bigger).

...but she called it because WE the progressive blogosphere (which is the voice of progressive activism) made a good case for it.

And as you said, that ties right back into being trusted by the progressives.

She knows when to listen, when to take advice and when to go her own way.

Time magazine person of the year!  I hope.

I was always pretty neutral on Nancy Pelosi.  Earlier this year the San Francisco newspaper ran a three part series profiling her.  After reading the articles, I was a fan.  I don't think you can read the articles without at least coming away with the feeling that she is pretty savvy.  The 1st article is at the following link.  Links to the other two articles are in the article.  Be forewarned the articles are fairly long.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f= /c/a/2006/04/02/MNGSHI24ON1.DTL

I think Pelosi has stayed true to her progressive roots, but at the same time, she has done a good job of reaching out to the Blue Dogs and making them feel that their views are not being ignored. I read an article in The Hill a year or two ago in which several Blue Dog members who had had reservations about her becoming minority leader were impressed with the job she was doing and said that they felt she had reached out to them and given them a role to play. I think that's a big part of her success - her ability to reach out to and unite various factions of the caucus without seriously compromising her own beliefs.