NANCY PELOSI

AGE: 67
OCCUPATION: Democratic Representative from California, 60th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 0
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0

PRO: First female Speaker of the House and highest-ranking woman in the history of U.S. government. Announced a plan to push through the majority of the Democratic agenda during the first 100 hours of legislation—she succeeded with 13 hours to spare.

CON: She has often conflicted with her own constituents in San Francisco, who consider her political views too conservative. Political watchers also argue that the 2006 midterm election was less an endorsement of Democrats and more a rejection of Republicans.