(CBS) 
As the kids got older, Pelosi threw herself into state politics, eventually becoming chairman of the California Democratic party. She didn’t run for Congress until she was 46, and now at 66, as she’s poised to go down in the history books, what Nancy Pelosi wants you to know is that when it comes to her real goal in life: she’s just like any other woman her age.

"It's great. It's fabulous. It was my goal in life and now I've achieved it. I'm a grandmother," Pelosi says laughing.

Ask Nancy Pelosi to describe herself and the first thing out of her mouth is that she’s a mother of five and a grandmother of five.

"When I asked your daughter Christine how you rule, she said you were motherly," Stahl tells Pelosi.

"I guess it depends on your definition of motherly. If motherly means – we’ll have order in the house, yes," she replies.

Well, she’s certainly brought order to the Democrats. She has insisted on no more bickering in public and just saying "no" to nearly everything that comes out of the Bush White House. In other words, party discipline: kind of like the Republicans do it. As a result, Democrats now vote together more often than they have since Eisenhower was president. How has someone so clearly not one of the boys managed to keep them in line? Well, one way is money.

She has personally raised more than $100 million, second only to Bill and Hillary Clinton, which she dispenses generously to her colleagues. Another way she rules is through good old fashioned hardball.

Some people says Pelosi is tough as nails.

Says Pelosi, "I'm very strong. I don't know - tough but… ."

"Every time I ask you about it, you retreat into, 'Oh no, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother,'" Stahl points out, laughing. "You are tough. You have to, I mean, it goes without saying. You got there. You did it."

Pelosi replies: "I heard somebody say the other day when they said, 'You should see how tough she was on a certain subject.' And one of my other colleagues said, 'You have no idea.'”

One thing she does is threaten to deny plum assignments to members who vote with the Republicans. But by keeping her troops in lockstep, her critics say she has worsened the gridlock and partisan bitterness in Congress.

Pelosi took 60 Minutes to the last election strategy session House Democrats held before they went off to campaign.

The mood was buoyant, with credit going to Pelosi for bringing them so close to retaking the House with her strategy of not letting one Republican attack go unanswered.

With just 16 days to the election, Nancy Pelosi – who already made history once when she became minority leader – thinks she’s about to do it again.

"You have to understand: breaking the – here we call it the marble ceiling. This makes glass look like nothing. This is a marble ceiling," she says.

And breaking it, she says, would help all women. "I believe if I become Speaker of the house and in that highly visible role show the American people that women know how to use power, that I think it helps all women in the political process or whatever it the field they're in. But I think it will be a plus," Pelosi says.

She has pledged that as Speaker she would give the Republicans rights they’ve denied the Democrats, like allowing them to introduce amendments to bills. But she may have trouble reining in the Democrats’ appetite for revenge. There’s already talk of multiple investigations and impeachment of the president.

"No, impeachment is off the table," she says.

"And that's a pledge?" Stahl asks.

"Well, it's a pledge in the – yes, I mean, it's a pledge. Of course it is. It is a waste of time," she replies.

"Wouldn't they just love it, if we came in and our record as Democrats coming forth in 12 years, is to talk about George Bush and Dick Cheney? This election is about them. This is a referendum on them," Pelosi says. "Making them lame ducks is good enough for me."

Produced by Karen Sughrue
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