Patty Murray: Democrats' Unlikely Iron Lady Of The Budget Battle

When your opponents' legislative style bears frequent comparison to the antics of angry toddlers, perhaps what's needed is a lead negotiator with a schoolteacher mentality and a knack for discipline.

Democrats think they may have that in Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, who so famously sticks to the script that reporters are tempted to call her boring.