Claire McCaskill: "The way to become a leader is by getting the most votes in your caucus."

[MineralMan]

1. Blunt and to the point.

Congress chooses its own leaders, in a democratic process. The members vote for their leaders. Antagonizing fellow members of Congress is not how one rises in congressional leadership.

Instead, the ability to gain broad-based support for measures before the houses of Congress is how one measures the leadership abilities of members. Nancy Pelosi has proven herself in that regard for multiple terms. That is why she has been elected by the members to be the Speaker of the House in the past, and why she will be elected again in January.

Leadership does not come from making statements to the press. It comes from the hard work of bringing members together to support issues before each house of Congress. Success is based on that, and on nothing else.