The Nancy Pelosi Game: to Reveal or Not to Reveal

On January 24, 2012, Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi revealed that she had secret information against Newt Gingrich that would keep him from becoming president. However, this appears to be counterproductive. If she believes Newt Gingrich is the weakest GOP candidate, she should not reveal she has secret information against him, but instead hope that he becomes the nominee so that President Obama has the best chances of winning re-election. We analyze this in the form of a two person game and find that Nancy Pelosi’s chosen strategy was optimal through a wide range of possible outcomes.