Pelosi & Others: What Obama Must Do in a Second Term

Ronald Brownstein

Ronald Brownstein is political director of the Atlantic Media Company and National Journal Group’s editorial director, in charge of long-term editorial strategy. He also writes a weekly column and regularly contributes other pieces for both National Journal and The Atlantic, and he coordinates political coverage and activities across publications produced by Atlantic Media. Brownstein was twice named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the 1996 and 2004 presidential campaigns. In addition, he is the recipient of several journalism awards, including the Exceptional Merit in Media Award from the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Excellence in Media Award from the National Council on Public Polls in 2005, and the Journalist of the Year Award from the Los Angeles Press Club in 2005. In 2007, the American Political Science Association presented him its Carey McWilliams Award for lifetime achievement.

Joe Courtney

Joseph "Joe" Courtney is the U.S. Representative for Connecticut's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Major Garrett

Major Elliott Garrett is a Congressional correspondent with the National Journal. Prior to joining the National Journal he was the senior White House correspondent for the Fox News Channel. He covered the 2004 presidential election, the War on Terror, and the 2008 presidential election where he covered the Democratic primaries and later Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee.

He is married to Julie Kirtz, a Washington, D.C. correspondent for Fox News weekend.

David Gregory

David Michael Gregory is an American television journalist, and moderator of NBC News' Sunday morning talk show Meet the Press.

Daniel Malloy

Dannel P. Malloy, Governor, Connecticut.

Representative Nancy Pelosi

Nancy Pelosi is the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives in the 112th Congress. From 2007 to 2011, she served as the first woman Speaker of the House and was also the first woman to lead a major political party in Congress, having served as House Democratic Leader from 2003 to 2007. Leader Pelosi has represented San Francisco, California, in the House since June 1987.

During the 111th Congress, then-Speaker Pelosi worked in partnership with President Obama to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. She also led the House effort to pass the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the historic healthcare reform legislation aimed at providing insurance for 32 million more Americans while lowering healthcare costs over the long term. Other recent legislative achievements have included passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to improve the ability of women to fight pay discrimination and repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

Jeanne Shaheen

The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen is a Democratic senator of the state of New Hampshire. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008. Senator Shaheen earned a bachelor's degree from Shippensburg University and a master's degree from the University of Mississippi. She became the first woman elected governor of New Hampshire, serving three terms from 1997 to 2003. During her governorship, she led trade missions to Europe and later spent time in Nigeria, Armenia, and the Middle East as an election monitor for the National Democratic Institute. In 2005, she became the director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government. The Senator currently serves on the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and is chair of the European Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She also sits on the Committee for Energy and Natural Resources and Committee for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Gene B. Sperling

Gene B. Sperling is Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. Upon his appointment on January 7, 2011, Mr. Sperling became the first person to serve as NEC Director and principal economic policy advisor for two presidents: first under President Clinton from 1997 to 2001, and now under President Obama.

In the Obama Administration, Sperling has played a key role representing the White House in budget negotiations with Congress as well as in designing several of the President’s economic initiatives including the American Jobs Act, the extension of Transition Adjustment Assistance, the universal dislocated workers program, and the small business tax credit. He also serves as the White House point person on several of the President’s top priorities including manufacturing policy, housing, and economic assistance for veterans.

During his eight years at the White House in the Clinton Administration, Sperling helped negotiate the 1993 and 1997 Deficit Reduction Acts and the increase in the earned-income tax credit and a champion of Saving Social Security First, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit and the Direct Student Loan program.

Mr. Sperling’s work extends beyond economics. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Mr. Sperling was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution where he focused on education in poor and conflict-affected nations. He was the founder and Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations and co-authored a book entitled What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence and Policies from the Developing World.

Mr. Sperling was also Senior Fellow for Economic Policy at the Center for American Progress, where he authored The Pro-Growth Progressive: An Economic Strategy for Shared Prosperity.

Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Sperling served as Counselor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In that role, Mr. Sperling served as a lead policy advisor on fiscal, budget, tax, job creation and small business issues.

Mr. Sperling graduated from the University of Minnesota and Yale Law School, and attended Wharton Business School. He is a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, where his parents still live.

Jessica Yellin

Jessica Yellin is an American television journalist, currently serving as the Chief White House Correspondent for CNN in Washington, D.C.