One’s a group of veterans with some time-tested hits who may have stayed on the stage too long. And the other is the "World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band." Nancy Pelosi wields the Speaker's gavel after being elected as the first woman Speaker during a swearing in ceremony for the 110th Congress. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The top Democrat was "Happy" to grab the gavel from the Republicans after her party’s triumph in the 2006 mid-term election, which made her the first female speaker of the House. <!-- space fix --> White House Photo of the signing of the Affordable Care Act. (Pete Souza) March, 2010: "When the Whip Comes Down ," Pelosi was able to overcome near-universal Republican opposition to help Barack Obama pass a national health-care law. That accomplishment makes her arguably the most accomplished female politician in American history (so far). <!-- space fix --> Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Ca., Minority Leader; and Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md. (Roll Call File Photo) Newly minted as speaker in 2007, Pelosi made clear she wanted trusted sidekick and ideological ally John Murtha as her deputy in the majority leader role. It was with "Mixed Emotions" that she accepted frenemy Steny Hoyer, a more centrist party official, into that role after he beat Murtha in the leadership contest. <!-- space fix --> Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) Pelosi’s dedication to a working government led her to repeatedly help her besieged successor, John Boehner. Not one Democrat voted against the two-year budget deal last October, while 167 Republicans said ‘no,’ defying their party leader. Many activists on the left and right regarded Pelosi’s support as nothing less than "Sympathy for the Devil." <!-- space fix --> Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi in Cuba. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) The Rolling Stones land in Havana. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) When Obama asked Pelosi to join him for the historic visit to Cuba in March, "She Said Yeah ," departing just thee days before Mick and the boys held a free open-air concert in a country where both Rock and Roll and American values were once shunned. <!-- space fix --> Nancy Pelosi and the team. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images) Mick and the boys. (MJ Kim/Getty Images) At 76, Washington critics whisper that "Wild Horses" can’t drag her away from the spotlight. The aggregate age of the four senior House Democratic leaders is 285 years, just one year less than the British band’s cumulative tally of 286 years. <!-- space fix --> Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call on your iPhone or your Android.
