House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has a story she likes to tell - a ghost story. She recently told the Women's Political Committee that the ghosts of American suffragists visited her in the White House. A recent Youtube video (found after the jump) shows the House leader describing her first meeting with President Bush in the White House after becoming part of the Democratic House leadership.
The President began by "saying something to the effect of we’re so glad to welcome you here, congratulations and I know you’ll probably have some different things to say about what is going on--which is correct. But, as he was saying this, he was fading and this other thing was happening to me."
Pelosi continued, “My chair was getting crowded in... I swear this happened, never happened before, it never happened since. My chair was getting crowded in and I couldn’t figure out what it was. ...And then I realized Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, Sojourner Truth, you name it, they were all in that chair, they were. More than I named and I could hear them say: 'At last we have a seat at the table.' And then they were gone."
This is not been the first time Pelosi told the public her favorite anecdote; she's spoken of her spiritual encounters with the suffragists numerous times in speeches. And on June 6 of this year she told the tale during an event celebrating her 25 years of political service. The story has become a personal favorite when speaking at colleges, including at Trinity Washington University’s commencement on May 20, 2012 and at Goucher College's commencement in 2005.
Scroll to the 5:50 mark to hear the beginning of Nancy Pelosi's story.