Not exactly a propitious way to being a Speakership:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nancy Pelosi, soon to become the first woman to head the U.S. House of Representatives, failed on Thursday to convince fellow Democrats to approve a vocal Iraq war foe as her top lieutenant.

Steny Hoyer, a moderate Maryland Democrat, easily defeated Pennsylvania's John Murtha, a leading proponent of a quick U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, to become the next House majority leader.

A week after jubilant Democrats won control of Congress from President George W. Bush's Republicans, with the war a key issue, the Democratic leadership election handed Pelosi an embarrassing first defeat.