Wasserman Schultz: Divisive DNC Superwoman

Debbie Wasserman Schultz does not pull punches. She has accused the Republicans of waging "a war on women," called their Medicare plan "a death trap for seniors," and said that those pushing voter ID laws "literally want to drag us all the way back to Jim Crow laws." That combative attitude has made her a lot of enemies, but it's also made her, "practically overnight, the face of the Democratic Party," the Wall Street Journal observes in a profile today.

It's Wasserman Schultz's intensity that has driven her to the head of the class. She's a non-stop media machine—on the day of Florida's primary she made 26 media appearances in 18 hours—and also must balance the demands of Congress and raising two daughters with her husband. "I have three full-time jobs," she says. "There's a lot of tension." When Wasserman Schultz got cancer, she didn't tell her colleagues or even her children until her treatment was complete, lest it interfere with her job. Soon after, Obama handpicked her to head the DNC. "She's my kind of person," he told his campaign manager. (More Debbie Wasserman Schultz stories.)