Nancy Pelosi’s Sniper Fire

Last year, we chuckled when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave her stirring account of her experience under enemy fire in Bosnia. This year, we are equally dumbfounded by Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s creative tales of how she has been misled, uninformed, or just lied to about receiving briefings by the C.I.A. beginning in 2002.

A cameraman, on a tarmac at Tuzla Air Base, shot down that ridiculous assertion with 30 seconds of B roll film shot in 1996. There are a lot more people who have access or were witness to the briefings Speaker Pelosi received. It has been reported that Pelosi’s approval numbers (39%) are approaching Newt Gingrich’s first year numbers of 37% as Speaker.

If she survives this, she will consolidate her hold on power in a House of Representatives that has shown a history of the majority party replacing its unpopular leadership. If she hangs onto power, but is greatly weakened, the Republicans could actually have a chance of winning seats in 2010. Don’t expect Michael Steele or the RNC to find a clue (or to be able to aim any meaningful strategy at the opposition; they still think that being more conservative is going to help them win elections.