For women, a seat at the table
When Nancy Pelosi was given the gavel as speaker of the House for the first time, she broke with precedent by posing for pictures at the podium surrounded by her grandchildren and children and grandchildren of other House members.
But when she was told that the House rules might not allow such a scene, she asked, "Who's in charge of the rules?" The answer -- the speaker of the House.
Pelosi recounted the anecdote to an admiring audience Tuesday evening at the first TED Women conference in Washington. The crowd gave her two standing ovations, a sign of support at a time when she's preparing to give up that gavel due to the Democrats' steep losses in the midterm elections. (TED is a nonprofit organization that spreads ideas through its conferences and its website; it has a partnership with CNN.com to publish some of its talks.)
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