I joined a few Prospect colleagues and journalists from other news outlets this morning for a breakfast with Nancy Pelosi. Here are some quotables from the Speaker of the House -- we'll put up more detailed dispatches from the event throughout the day: On John Edwards and Barack Obama's attacks on Hillary Clinton during the Democratic debate last night: "The best preparation for combat is combat." On the differences between Democrats and Republicans over Iraq: "President Bush is interested in a 10-year commitment to the war...Korea-like. So the difference is between 10 years and one year -- actually, more like 10 months." On the continuing S-CHIP battle: "Ten Republicans in the House are standing in the way of health care for 10 million children." Criticizing the Bill Clinton administration: "I lost my innocence on trade and human rights on China in the Clinton administration." Pelosi said that during his campaign, Clinton promised to take a tough stance toward authoritarian regimes, but that once in office, he didn't follow through when it came to trade. On overturning "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": "I'm hopeful. I'm always hopeful because I'm from California." Pelosi said allowing all Americans to serve their nation was a matter of national security. "Tolerance is a nice word, but it's a condescending word. We make it respect, we make it pride." --Dana Goldstein
