Pelosi: Civilization at stake in November

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By Stephen Dinan

DENVER | For those who thought this was just another election, Nancy Pelosi says to wake up: the planet is at stake in the choice between Barack Obama and John McCain.

"We've got a planet to save. Nothing less is at stake other than civilization as we know it today," the California Democrat and speaker of the House told reporters Saturday afternoon in assessing the election and the nominating convention taking place here over the week.

She said Mr. Obama's new running mate, Sen Joseph R. Biden Jr., was a good choice because he melds Washington know-how with an outsider's view. She pointed to his daily commute by train from his home in Delaware to Washington as evidence he is still a man of the people.

"Joe Biden is the all-American boy," she said in a luncheon for reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.

Mrs. Pelosi will be at the Democratic National Convention here this week, serving as permanent convention chair.