
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a muted victory lap today after the historic House vote on health care reform, but didn't dispute a description of her clout in helping win passage of the bill.
"Most powerful woman in American history?" "World News" anchor Diane Sawyer asked Pelosi today, citing an article in The Economist. Pelosi, maintaining the smiling poker player's mask that is her trademark, paused for a moment before saying brightly, "That sounds good. I don't, I don't take it personally, except I take it as a compliment for all women."
But the California Democrat rejected the description by a fellow congresswoman who said it was Pelosi who put the "steel" in President Obama's determination to keeping pushing for a sweeping reform bill rather than a scaled down measure.
"That's ridiculous," Pelosi said during the exclusive interview with Sawyer.
"Many presidents since Teddy Roosevelt have tried to pass health care reform for Americans. And many speakers of the House have tried to do it, as well," she said. "And last night, we had that level of success."
Recounting a congratulatory phone call she had with Obama Sunday night after the 219-212 vote, she said, "I told him that I was certain that it would not have happened without his vision."
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/house-speaker-nancy-pelosis-exclusive-interview-diane-sawyer/story?id=10172685