House Speaker—and arguably the most powerful woman in the country (Lord, help us)—Nancy Pelosi, just damned Hillary Clinton with faint praise.

In an interview on PBS’s NewsHour last night, Pelosi said women wouldn’t suffer a “step back” if Hillary weren’t to get the nomination.  “A woman is down to the wire in contention for the presidential nomination.  You know, she still may win this, but whatever the outcome, new ground has been broken and it won’t be left unbroken.  It will be built upon.”

Then the coup de grace:  “The person who has the most delegates becomes the nominee of the party.  It’s not been about the popular vote.”

Pelosi had better invest in a food taster.

Hillary’s forward march depends almost totally on winning a popular vote victory after she creams Barack Obama in Puerto Rico on June 1.

When asked about the possibility of Hillary appearing on the ticket as Obama’s running mate, Pelosi sunk the knife in deeper:  “In all honesty,” she said, “I do think it’s not likely.”

No wonder Hillary is rallying women to her in these final contests.  She certainly can’t count on the most important woman in Washington.  In fact, the only woman Hillary can really count on is herself.

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