Pelosi's CIA Charges Hardly Jibe With Obama Talk Points

Nancy Pelosi’s accusation that the CIA lied to Congress about waterboarding will likely have broad political consequences, Chris Cillizza writes in the Washington Post. In the short term, Pelosi has stolen President Obama’s thunder on credit-card reform and could force the early announcement of a Supreme Court nominee as a distraction. It could also ignite a debate on Bush-era torture that Obama had sought to avoid.

 “Make no mistake: Pelosi would not have held this sort of press conference unless she and her inner circle believed that she was losing altitude—politically—on the issue,” Cillizza writes. “But, her decision to do so could have wide-ranging political implications that will reach from Congress to the White House and back.” (More Nancy Pelosi stories.)