New DNC Head 'Youngest, Smartest, Funniest, Toughest'; Has 'Fund-Raising Prowess,' 'Legendary...Indefatigability'

In Florida, reporter Lizette Alvarez buttered up Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida (aka Superwoman) the new head the Democratic National Committee, in Monday's "In a Life Filled With Firsts, One More." In case there weren't enough superlatives in that headline, the subhead had another: "Energetic Florida Congresswoman to Be Democrats' New Leader."

By contrast, in March Alvarez suggested new Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott was in over his head a political "novice" with a "go-it-alone style" that "irritated" or "annoyed" even his fellow Republicans.

(Tom Blumer at NewsBusters collated some of the less impressive moments of Wasserman Schultz, who has an almost perfectly liberal voting record according to the ratings kept by the American Conservative Union).

Alvarez opened her story on a hectic school morning at the congresswoman's house, with the tough and unflappable Wasserman Schultz getting her three children out the door.

In less than two weeks, Ms. Wasserman Schultz - mother, wife, Girl Scout leader, legislator, fund-raiser and House vote counter - will add another job to her monumentally orchestrated life. She will become the first woman elected to lead the Democratic National Committee, a role that requires grit, exaltation and inspiration. At 44, she will be the youngest committee leader in decades.

UPDATE: The Times got it wrong: Wasserman Schultz is actually the second woman to head the DNC, not the first. The Times corrected the article on April 27.

As the country races toward the 2012 presidential election, it will be her task to rally Democrats to give money and time, swatting away Republican barbs and defending President Obama at every turn. It is a job she is well prepared to handle, having served years on the House's Democratic campaign committee.

Later that morning, in a nearby deli, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, now wearing a businesslike gray suit and pumps, said, "The timing is right for a retail politician."

But the symbolism of her selection is not lost on her.

"It's a big deal, a very big deal," said Ms. Wasserman Schultz, whose toughness was admired by her colleagues even before she grappled with breast cancer in 2007. "My generation is significantly unrepresented in terms of public policy and decision making. As a woman today, it's very different living through raising children and balancing work and family. It's an opportunity to reach out to so many families. And women who work outside the family can say Democrats get it."

Alvarez found room for couple of mildly warning words from Republican colleagues before calling Wasserman Schultz "one of the '-est' girls: youngest, smartest, funniest, toughest." She also has "legendary...indefatigability," which certainly sounds impressive.

With her trademark curls, Ms. Wasserman Schultz has long been one of the '-est' girls: youngest, smartest, funniest, toughest. Her Democratic colleagues extol her fund-raising prowess, her ease on television and her indefatigability, which is legendary among her colleagues.

There is seemingly no end to Wasserman Schultz's superlatives:

Ms. Wasserman Schultz's take-charge instinct also kicked in after her breast cancer diagnosis in 2007. She told only her closest friends. Her children knew only that their mother was going to have surgery. Once she conquered the cancer, she told them the truth. She scheduled her operations for a double mastectomy during Congressional breaks.

Alvarez wasn't nearly as nice to a Florida Republican, Gov. Rick Scott. Her March 8 profile was hostile to the "conservative Republican billionaire" politician, a political "novice" with a "go-it-alone style" that "irritated" or "annoyed" even his fellow Republicans.

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