Nancy Pelosi’s Visit to Taiwan – and Joe Biden

So, was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan a good idea?  I don’t know,¹ though once the visit was leaked and China objected so vociferously, she had to go.  Still, the visit raises all kinds of questions.  Here is one I had: I find Joe Biden’s comments last month criticizing the trip and saying the Defense Department was worried about the trip, more than a little bizarre.  Speaker Pelosi and President Biden are both Democrats.  I am sure Speaker Pelosi knows how to reach President Biden when she wants to talk to him.  I am sure he picks up the phone when she calls.  Did this mean Secretary Pelosi planned her trip without talking to President Biden, or at least to his people, first?  That would truly be bizarre. 

If that is really what happened, it reminds me of a story from Illinois ten or more years ago.  Pat Quinn was governor, and Michael Madigan and John Cullerton were Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, respectively.  At some point near the end of the legislative session, Speaker Madigan and Senate President Cullerton had a press conference to announce that the two of them had reached agreement on the state budget for the coming year.  One of the reporters asked them whether Governor Quinn was in agreement.  Senate President Cullerton responded, in effect, that he didn’t matter.²
----------
¹ Walter Russell Mead, in The Wall Street Journal today, says that Speaker Pelosi’s visit did not change China’s policy; it was headed that way in any case.  He does note that it is unfortunate Speaker Pelosi has not, over the years, “beat the drum for the past 15 years for greater military preparedness even if this meant larger defense appropriations.”
² I looked for a link to this story.  I could not find it, which is not surprising since it was a long time ago.  You’ll have to trust me on it.