In the 1950s, the chances that she would fulfill this ambition seemed scarcely more likely than the priesthood. If there were signs of political greatness in the youngest D’Alesandro child, no one was conditioned to perceive them in a girl. Heeding her mother’s rule against talking to strangers, she ignored him, not realizing the man was the outgoing mayor, Theodore McKeldin. Her brother Joey, who was nine, made fun of her and said he’d tell their mother she had been rude to the mayor. “If you do,” she replied, “I will tell Mommy that you talked to a stranger.” As Pelosi recalled it later, she didn’t squeal on him, earning his respect and ensuring that he wouldn’t squeal on her.

Source: New York Times May 05, 2020 09:00 UTC