Pelosi’s first policy instinct was immediately to back Murtha, the defense hawk and former Marine who on Nov. 17 shook up the Bush White House with his timetable, forcing a national conversation on how and when to bring the troops home.

But Pelosi did not make a statement right way, strategically agreeing with the expedient political view of some colleagues to let Murtha get a clear first shot.

Since Democrats do not speak with one voice on the war or on how to extricate the troops, it was not seen by some trying to advise her as a “must” for Pelosi to add her comments to Murtha’s. After all, Murtha voted to authorize the war, Pelosi did not. She’s a leading an anti-war Democrat; he is not.

Murtha’s words resonated because of his résumé and close ties with the Pentagon. Pelosi went public only after President Bush’s Nov. 30 “Victory in Iraq” speech, which did not impress her.

So what is the bottom line when it comes to the ability of Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, to campaign across the nation for Democratic House candidates in the most contested races?

San Fransico Chronicle Washington Bureau Chief Marc Sandalow, who closely follows Pelosi, put that question before Democratic and GOP spokesmen for the congressional campaign committees at a forum on the 2006 elections sponsored by the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics in partnership with National Journal’s Hotline.

Only GOP strategist Chris LaCivita bit. “I’d love to have Nancy Pelosi go to Tennessee and help Harold Ford,” LaCivita said, referring to the Democratic House member running for the Senate.

• Pelosi: a “magnificent disrupter.” References to what can be called disruption theory and how it serves to spur innovation are now part of Pelosi’s political stump speech.

Pelosi spent part of last Friday at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, speaking to students at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum.

She talked at the forum about the Democrats’ agenda, aiming her comments at the students, stressing the positive contribution people willing to be “disruptive” can make:

• “The energy, imagination and, I say with admiration, disruptive thinking of America’s young people is propelling us into the future.”

• “To the young people here today: Know your power. Women have always been a part of pushing that frontier, but their creative disruption has been more obvious in recent decades.”

• Referring to Dr. Martin Luther King, Pelosi said he was “a magnificent disrupter himself.”

Words Pelosi can use to describe herself.

Before her speech, Pelosi met with about 60 female students who are part of an initiative of the Women and Public Policy Program at the Kennedy School called “From Harvard Square to the Oval Office: A Political Campaign Practicum.”

Pelosi briefed the students in a high-level mentoring session.

Sweet is the Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it