If Nancy Pelosi had hoped for a good start as the presumed Speaker of the House in the next Congress, those plans have been cut short.

Today's papers are abuzz with comments about criticism directed at the California Democrat for endorsing Rep. John Murtha, D-PA, for majority leader.

Murtha's profile has risen as one of the critics of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war. But he's also been accused of favoring a lobbying firm that hired a former staffer and clients of his brother, Robert.

Like other members of Congress, "he is best known for turning earmarks into power," as the New York Times reported recently. Dealing from a seat in the back of the House chamber, known as the "Murtha Corner," the current ranking member on the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee "often delivers Democratic votes to Republican leaders in a tacit exchange for earmarks for himself and his allies," the Times reported.