Glenn Greenwald hits the beltway pundidiotocracy almost as hard as they deserve, since removing the “almost” would require the judicious application of various medieval implements. This is what I’d say if I could write like him. H. L. Mencken coined the word “booboisie” as a combination of boob and bourgeoisie, and the only difference between the beltway booboisie and Mencken’s booboisie is the notoriety of those about whom they vapidly gossip and speculate. Well, that and the quirk in the fabric of existence (or perhaps a malevolently humorous deity) that supplies them with great material rewards for behaving identically to pre-teens at a pajama party.

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The Bush administration has spent six years completely obsessed with personal loyalty to the President and intolerant of the slightest independence. The entire Congress was kept strictly in line for the last five years. Every official who showed the slightest independence was replaced by obedient Bush loyalists. Yet Pelosi does nothing other than support an ally rather than an opponent for the position immediately underneath her, and that makes her some out-of-control egomaniac consumed by personal vanity and emotional impulses.

And that’s to say nothing of the fact that the Hoyer-Murtha race is being depicted as some sort of sign of hateful Democratic in-fighting that shows Pelosi has lost control, even though Republicans are mauling each other for every single House leadership position, all of which are hotly contested. Trent Lott beat Lamar Alexander by a vote of 25-24 in the Senate for the position of Minority Whip. There’s nothing wrong with various factions competing for leadership positions. That’s called an “election,” and only those to whom Eric Alterman refers as the “smart boys” at TNR and Slate would view a simple election for House Majority Leader as some apocalyptic sign that Democrats are lame, idiotic and hopelessly divided. I’m sure Mark Halperin agrees with all of their attacks.

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Americans just elected new leadership quite deliberately. They are obviously fine with Nancy Pelosi. Republicans tried to make the election be about her — constantly reminding everyone that a vote for Democrats would mean installing super-liberal Nancy Pelosi and her San Francisco values in power — and the Democrats won. So voters have no problem with Pelosi. They want Congressional Democrats to take the lead in policy and governance because the Republicans have failed so miserably. I have no idea whether Pelosi will be a good Speaker, but I’m going to withhold judgment until she actually at least starts, and Americans are obviously doing that as well.

Yet the Beltway media mavens know better, and so they are already out in force attacking Pelosi’s character with petty and baseless chattering. This country has extremely serious issues facing it, and yet these self-styled “serious” journalists are already trying to cripple Pelosi’s ability to do anything before she has even begun, all based on giggly chit-chat and gossipy garbage that has no legitimacy other than the fact that they all repeat it in unison on television and in print.

It’s what these pundits and journalists do. They have pre-conceived, vapid notions about everything and everyone — all driven by deep self-love for their own superior wisdom — and they distort reality and crowd out sober analysis of everything that matters. Nancy Pelosi, and really everyone, would be well-advised not to listen to them and, above all, never adopt as a goal trying to please or satisfy them. They are frivolous and out of touch with everything that matters and should be treated as such.