Quotes from Nancy Pelosi

Democrats believe we must create jobs, not protect the special interests; build the economy from the middle out, not the top down.

After over 200 years, not even a fifth of Congress is women.

The war on terror is the war in Afghanistan.

America will be far safer if we reduce the chances of a terrorist attack in one of our cities than if we diminish the civil liberties of our own people.

Democrats believe in reigniting the American dream by removing barriers to success and building ladders of opportunity for all, so everyone can succeed.

Putin is going to do what Putin is going to do.

My brother is the former mayor of Baltimore.

The American dream is about freedom.

As you may know, I was raised in an Italian Catholic family in Baltimore, Maryland.

I know about raising money.

When I first ran for Congress, I went to my daughter Alexandra, who was going to be a senior in high school, and said: 'I have a chance to run. I may not win, but I'd be gone three nights a week. So, if you want me to stay, I'll be happy to.' And do you know what she said to me? 'Mother, get a life!'

I really want women to know their power, to value their experience. To understand that nothing has been more wholesome in the political process than the increased involvement of women.

The president of the United States, the most famous person in the world, maybe in the whole galaxy - in a long time - he had to spend like a billion dollars to set the record straight.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the ratings of Congress. I really don't.

We haven't really gotten the credit for what we have done.

My father was in Congress when I was born. He was mayor my whole life from when I was in grade school - first grade - to when I went away to college.

Let's just do what is right for the American people. And those of us who are involved in politics and government know that our responsibility is to the American people, that we have a responsibility to find our common ground, to seek it and to find it.

My biggest fight has been between those who wanted to do something incremental and those who wanted to do something comprehensive. We won that fight, and once we kick through this door, there'll be more legislation to follow.

My husband and I, when we had our five children and they were grown, we thought we were entitled to grandchildren. And so we were just expecting this to happen; of course, nothing was happening. And then we kept begging, bribing, cajoling, anything - threatening to adopt our own grandchildren - and finally, we got some grandchildren.

Let me just say as one who has been speaker of the House, I've had to have a very thick skin about every kind of thing that was thrown at me.

My husband and I have season tickets to the Giants games, and we go there as fans to enjoy it.

I'm a mother of five, and raising five babies, little children, you have to make use of time in a very effective way. So, I think that may have trained me.

I went to Catholic school throughout my whole academic life. In fact, my children - my husband and I and our children in my own family now have over 100 years of Catholic education among us.

I would say that one of the things that encouraged me so much when I became elected to the leadership was the letters I received from fathers of daughters, saying that, 'My daughter can now do many more things because of what you did.'