U.S. Democratic Speaker of the House

quotes:
- Nothing surprises me. One thing I don't ever have in my world is surprise.
- I've never walked away from any of my positions. I take pride in them.
- A woman is like a teabag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.
- The word 'campaign' is a war term. So when you go into a campaign you just prepare to go to war. If you think this is an exercise in civic activity...then you are going to be surprised. -1985
- "Can we drill your brains?"(responding to attendants who interrupted her speech by chanting "Drill here! Drill now!")
- You go through the gate. If the gate’s closed you go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we’ll pole-vault. If that doesn’t work, we’ll parachute in. But we are going to get health care reform passed for the American people.
- Democrats believe in reigniting the American dream by removing barriers to success and building ladders of opportunity for all, so everyone can succeed.
- My vision for the future always centers around our children - it always centers around our children. So anytime anybody asks me what are the three most important issues facing the Congress, I always say the same thing: 'Our children, our children, our children.'