Speaker Pelosi

Following Bill Clinton's playbook for dealing with a political scandal, Nancy Pelosi has decided to lash out and attack the CIA over the evidence that she knew in 2002 the Bush administration was waterboarding certain terrorists and didn't oppose it.

There is so much one can say about this matter, but here a few key points:

First, although the evidence was already overwhelming, this incident further demonstrates that the Democrats pursued a political strategy against the Bush administration and the Republicans in contradiction to their own beliefs or actions on national security. From believing Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction to later asserting Bush lied about the existence of them; to supporting the Iraq war to later claiming it was wrong; to opposing indefinite detention of terrorists to now being the policy of the Obama administration; to welcoming the photos from Abu Ghraib to Obama now opposing release of further photos of terrorists in custody - we can add that the criticism of enhanced interrogation techniques was a tactic to undermine Republicans while believing it was the right thing to do.

Second, since this political gamesmanship involved matters as fundamental as our national security, it demonstrates Democrats are willing to risk American lives and America's interests to further their political ambitions.

Third, it demonstrates the character, or the lack thereof, of the most powerful Democrat in Washington during the Bush administration. Nancy Pelosi, rather than being a great statesman, is a political opportunist who will say and do what she thinks is necessary to win. And if America's safety is put at risk, so be it.