The incredible shrinking women - Tina Dupuy

If you happen to mention the name Hillary Clinton to my grandmother, she'll pause, lock her jaw and declare, "That woman ... ambitious." That's all she has to say about Clinton because, after all, Granny's polite. Also, the first female Speaker of the House's name is akin to a curse word -- something you say when you stub your toe. "Ah! #*&% Pelosi!"

But if you think Grandma is a Sarah Palin fan, think again. Once, I asked her about Palin. She faked a hearing-aid malfunction. Even so, think of where women were when my grandmother was born: Montana holds the honor of electing the first woman, Jeannette Rankin, to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1917, a full three years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Rankin is also noted for being the only member of Congress to vote against the U.S. entering WWII (pacifism being a "woman's issue"). Interestingly, Montana also holds the honor of electing only one (think: first AND last) woman to Congress.