Perhaps in response to the compelling results of a recent Wonkette poll, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said this to the New York Times:

"I hear them say on TV that I've had face-lifts," said Ms. Pelosi, 66, who added that she had never had one. "I heard one woman say I've had a face-lift, but it looks terrible."

She shook her head and said, "Did you ever think that those two things cancel themselves out?"

Uh, not really. Why isn't it possible that you had some awful plastic surgery? It does happen, you know.

Also, note her careful wording: no facelifts. But we asked about an eyelid lift.

Additional commentary, including a post-surgery sighting of Pelosi, after the jump.

Also in the same article, Pelosi's fellow Congressional Catfight combatant -- Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) -- whips out the claws: "Her public speaking style is not good."

Ouch. With Democrats like these, who needs Republicans?

The Times seems to agree with Frank's assessment:

Ms. Pelosi can struggle at times to give the air of the gravitas that powerful women like Hillary Rodham Clinton and Condoleezza Rice do, both friends and adversaries say. She can appear tentative and overscripted in interviews, with a tight smile and large, expressive eyes than can leave an impression of nervousness.

A "tight" smile, and "large" eyes? Does Mark Leibovich share our doubts about Pelosi's denial of plastic surgery?

If so, who can blame him? A San Francisco-based reader offers this Bay Area sighting of Pelosi:

I live about eight blocks from Nancy Pelosi in SF and a bit over a year ago, I was buying a sandwich at the corner market... I saw a large government SUV outside, and I saw this vaguely familiar person who looked like a cross between the Joker and my Congresswoman, followed closely by an assistant. I quickly realized that Nancy had recently had a rather severe face lift.

So if she did more recently have her eyes done, I'd be surprised. Because you could have gently set a quarter on that face and it still would have bounced ten feet up in the air.

Finally, we enjoyed this little bit of color in Leibovich's piece:

Ms. Pelosi said she slept little, stole exercise by dashing through airports and subsisted many days on Ghirardelli chocolates ("less than 10" a day) and pistachio nuts (which she shells with her teeth).

"I had a hamburger last night and it was my breakfast, lunch and dinner," she said last week. "And I had these strange things. I realized they were French fries." She made quick spiraling gestures with her fingers to show what they looked like.

It was apparent that she was not familiar with curly fries.

Not familiar with the curly version of freedom fries? How un-American!

The Republicans don't need to demonize Pelosi. She's doing a fine job of that all by herself, thank you very much.

Talk of Pelosi as Speaker Delights Both Parties [NYT]

Earlier:Extreme Makeover: Nancy Pelosi?

Extreme Makeover, Nancy Pelosi: Poll Results