( CNN ) -- Barack Obama is a married man but there 's another woman with a hold on him that his wife can never match : she runs the House . Nancy Pelosi has been an easy target for Republican ire . She is Nancy Pelosi , the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives , the most powerful woman in Washington and lately , a target for Republicans . Pelosi is easy to spot in any crowd of U.S. politicians ; she 's the small brown-haired woman in the smartly tailored suit . Conservatives like to stereotype some Democrats as rich , isolated and out-of-touch . As the wife of an affluent investment banker , the always expertly coiffed Pelosi looks like exactly the kind of `` Limousine Liberal '' they 're talking about . Ironically , it 's money that makes her powerful . Under the U.S. constitution , the president ca n't spend a penny without the permission of Congress . Within the Congress , the Senate has its own powers but the House is the place where taxes and spending start . So almost every one of Obama 's plans needs a push from Pelosi . Maybe that 's part of the reason she 's in trouble right now . The issue is n't really part of her daily duties : `` waterboarding '' and other extreme interrogation tactics used against prisoners in the Bush era . Obama ordered an end to the harsh methods , but Republicans are asking why Democrats who knew about them years ago did n't try to stop them then . Pelosi was one of a handful of lawmakers who was briefed by the Central Intelligence Agency in 2002 , but she now accuses the agency of lying to her and hiding what it was doing . Republicans have been attacking Pelosi for making unsubstantiated and damaging accusations against a crucial national security agency . The man who once had her job , former Republican speaker Newt Gingrich , says Pelosi is lying in a way that is `` despicable , dishonest and vicious . '' Whether or not he 's right , it 's smart politics . Obama is still remarkably popular . Most of the country hopes that he 'll succeed in rebuilding the economy and ending the war in Iraq . If the president is immune to most easy attacks from the opposition , it needs to find someone who is n't . Pelosi is a crucial part of his plans . As potential targets go , with her nearly perfect hair and nearly perfect clothes , Pelosi is nearly perfect .
Nancy Pelosi , speaker in House , is most powerful woman in Washington . U.S. President Obama needs Pelosi to ensure his plans get House approval . Pelosi under attack over Democrats ' failure to challenge CIA over waterboarding . Comment: