Madame Nancy Pelosi

Updated March 11, 2010

"We have to pass the [health care] bill so that you can find out what is in it."

"A bill can be bipartisan without bipartisan votes."

"Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs. I don't think we can go fast enough to stop that."

"Well, the family planning services reduce cost. They reduce cost. The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children's health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of those - one of the initiatives you mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government."

"It felt like a 10-pound anvil was lifted off my head."

(Pelosi said one of her favorite moments from Inauguration Day was when Marine One lifted off the Capitol grounds, signifying former President George W. Bush's exit from Washington.)

"I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And Senator--St. Augustine said at three months. We don't know. The point is, is that it shouldn't have an impact on the woman's right to choose. Roe v. Wade talks about very clear definitions of when the child--first trimester, certain considerations; second trimester; not so third trimester. There's very clear distinctions. This isn't about abortion on demand, it's about a careful, careful consideration of all factors and--to--that a woman has to make with her doctor and her god. And so I don't think anybody can tell you when life begins, human life begins."

"[Barack Obama is] "a leader that God has blessed us with at this time."

"I'm trying to save the planet; I'm trying to save the planet. I will not have this debate trivialized by their excuse for their failed policy."

"You know, God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States, a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject."

"The Bible tells us in the Old Testament, 'To minister to the needs of God's creation is an act of worship. To ignore those needs is to dishonor the God who made us.' On this Earth Day, and every day, let us honor the earth and our future generations with a commitment to fight climate change." (Note: The Bible doesn't contain that quote.)

"[Republicans] like this war. They want this war to continue. We thought that they shared the view of so many people in our country that we needed a new direction in Iraq. But the Republicans have made it very clear that this is not just George Bush's war. This is the war of the Republicans in Congress."

"Tonight, Barry Bonds etched his name into baseball's history books and took his rightful place among sport's immortals."

"It's an economic issue for us to create good-paying green-collar jobs, green jobs... It is something that we must do, and America is lagging behind because the president doesn't accept the science."

"We were very pleased with the reassurances we received from the president (Assad) that he was ready to resume the peace process. He was ready to engage in negotiations (for) peace with Israel."

"On this very important matter, I would extend a hand of friendship to the president: 'Calm down with the threats…There is a new Congress in town.'"

"I just wish the president would take a deep breath..."

"I don't even know the numbers of the planes. So this is something that is really very strange... Now, as a woman, as a woman Speaker of the House, I don't want any less opportunity than male speakers have had when they have served here."

--NANCY "De plane! De plane!" PELOSI

"The president knows that because the troops are in harm's way, that we won't cut off the resources. That's why he's moving so quickly to put them in harm's way, but we will hold the president accountable. He has to answer for his war."

[Iraq is] "not a war to be won but a situation to be solved."

"Even if [Osama bin Laden] is caught tomorrow, it is five years too late. He has done more damage the longer he has been out there. But in fact, the damage that he has done is done. And even to capture him now, I don't think makes us any safer."

"If people are ripping your face off, you have to rip their face off."

Note: Does this mean that she's threatening to take legal action against her various plastic surgeons?

"We will turn the most corrupt Congress in history to the most honest and open—and maybe it’ll take a woman to clean up the house."

"Today's Supreme Court decision reaffirms the American ideal that all are entitled to the basic guarantees of our justice system. This is a triumph for the rule of law.

"The rights of due process are among our most cherished liberties, and today's decision is a rebuke of the Bush Administration's detainee policies and a reminder of our responsibility to protect both the American people and our Constitutional rights."

"The decision by a federal judge that the President's electronic surveillance program is unconstitutional is a repudiation of Mr. Bush's dangerous assertion that he has unlimited authority to conduct wiretapping activities in the United States."

"In the last Congress, House Republicans became the most arrogant, unethical and corrupt majority in modern congressional history."

--NANCY PELOSI