In a front page article in the Times...

...yesterday, there were two references to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that particularly caught my attention:

The speaker, though, was determined to go ahead. “We will go through the gate,” she said at a news conference on Jan. 28. “If the gate is closed, we will go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we will pole vault in. If that doesn’t work, we will parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed.”

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Last week, with a vote drawing near and dozens of House Democrats still wavering — many terrified a vote for the bill would cost them their jobs — House leadership aides arrived at Ms. Pelosi’s office with a list of 68 lawmakers to lobby, turn or bolster. The aides presumed the Democratic leadership would divvy up the names.

“I’ll take all 68,” Ms. Pelosi declared.

I love that last one, especially. Give me the ball.

Nancy Pelosi reminds me of a modern-day American version of Margaret Thatcher. And I mean that as a compliment.