AGE: 68
OCCUPATION: Speaker of the House of Representatives (D-California)
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 1
PRO: The first female Speaker came roaring out of the gate, borne on an anti-Republican, antiwar tide. Unabashedly raising her "mother of five" voice, she managed to push through a bump in the minimum wage and several other Democratic initiatives. Her high-profile support of Tibetan protesters has made waves, especially in light of the President's silence.
CON: But the Republicans have stopped her on Iraq policy, handing her one embarrassing defeat after another. This (barely) Democratic Congress has lower approval ratings than the President — and she's more or less the face of the Democratic Congress. Also, did you know her last name means "hairy" in Italian?