Rep. Pelosi poised to make history

Williams: How do you play the tricky business of overplaying the Democrats' hand with power here to the party for two years?

Pelosi: Well, you know, people have said there are people who want to get even and this or that, and to those people, I say the Democrats are not about getting even. They're about helping the Americans get ahead, and that's what motivates us. There is nothing to be gained in looking backward. We're looking forward all of us together, and our unity is our most eloquent message, and I feel very confident in our ability to continue that unity.

Williams: Are you personally as sick and tired as so many Americans seem to be of the difference between the parties and the tenor?

Pelosi: Well, when you say sick and tired of it, it has no place. This isn't what our founders sacrificed their life, liberty and the rest for. This is supposed to be an arena of ideas where people came and debated the issues, formulated the policy, protected the American people, and built a better future for the next generation. It certainly respected diversity of opinion, but that diversity was not supposed to be an obstacle. It was supposed to be a strength. As a student of American history, as one who was just dazzled by the brilliance of our founders, I want to honor their vision and meet the needs of the American people who expect and deserve better than fierce political battles in Washington that are irrelevant to their lives when they have such tremendous needs.

Williams: You've said some rough things about the president. You have indicated he's a dangerous man, you have intimated he can't be trusted. How do you sit down with this man and reason with him and bargain with him, beginning in the Oval Office this week?

Pelosi: When I go into that office, I will bring with me the wishes of the American people. They want a new direction in Iraq, they want a new direction on our economy. Many more people want to participate in the prosperity of our country. They want American dreams to be fulfilled by having more affordable education, better access to health care. They want energy independence and all that that means for our country. They want a dignified retirement. I'm not bringing a personal agenda, I'm bringing the personal agenda of the American people into that room. I do believe that there has been incompetence in this administration in the war in Iraq and what happened in Katrina and the rest, and I don't hesitate to make that differentiation. We can do better as a country, and I know we can do better if we are working together in a bipartisan way.

Williams: You think they said all of those things with the votes last night?

Pelosi: I think they said a lot about wanting honesty and civility in government, and I think they rejected not only the policy in Iraq, but the incompetence that's gone with it.

Williams: Leader Pelosi, thank you very much for your time.

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