First female House speaker basks in historic day

It's a glass ceiling no one else has even cracked, and Nancy Pelosi was crashing through it Thursday, preparing to be sworn in as the nation's first-ever female House speaker.

"This is an historic moment - for the Congress, and for the women of this country. It is a moment for which we have waited more than 200 years," Pelosi planned to say in prepared remarks for the House. "Never losing faith, we waited through the many years of struggle to achieve our rights."

The symbolism of her triumph for women was center stage.

Outside a brunch Thursday at the Library of Congress, leaders from the National Organization for Women planned to greet her with a giant congratulation card. The message: Way to Go!

"This is a historic moment for women everywhere," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "Nancy Pelosi has broken through the marble ceiling."

Pelosi always has said she wants to be judged by her abilities, not her gender, but she happily acknowledged the importance of her achievement.

"Becoming the first woman speaker will send a message to young girls and women across the country that anything is possible for them," she said Wednesday.

Pelosi was raised in Baltimore, the daughter of New Deal Maryland congressman Thomas D'Alesandro, who later became the city's mayor. She didn't run for the House herself until 1987 after marrying wealthy businessman Paul Pelosi, moving to San Francisco and raising her children. She now has six grandchildren.

In Congress Pelosi displayed the tough politicking of her childhood environment. She wrung loyalties, counted votes and muscled aside Hoyer to become Democrats' second-in-command, and then Democratic leader in 2002.

Personal loyalty is key to Pelosi. She tried to block Hoyer's bid in November to become Democratic majority leader, suffering an embarrassing defeat when her preferred candidate, Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha, lost badly.

Pelosi wins re-election by huge margins and stays true to her San Francisco constituency, voting against the Iraq war resolution and co-sponsoring legislation to end federal prohibitions against medical marijuana. Her liberalism makes some moderate Democrats leery, and she's avoided campaigning in some conservative districts.