Not now, I mean — there’ll have to be some hard proof from the CIA first that she is indeed the pathetic liar the whole country suspects her of being — but assuming that proof is adduced, why not toss her overboard then? The right hates her, the left doesn’t really trust her, and there’s a perfectly capable back-up waiting in Steny Hoyer. From what I understand, Hoyer’s well liked in the House; look no further than the fact that the Democrats elected him majority leader over Murtha, Pelosi’s favored candidate. If they’re serious about passing epochal legislation this year like health care, don’t they want someone in charge who’s friendly with Republicans and can woo GOP votes to provide the Dems with a little political cover? To put it another way, what exactly has Pelosi accomplished lately for the left that Hoyer wouldn’t? One day she’s on TV dumping on the CIA, the next day she’s pushing for torture “truth commissions” that’ll blow up in Obama’s face. She’s more of a liability than an asset. Assuming she’s guilty of having endorsed waterboarding back in the day — which, according to Andy McCarthy, by the left’s own logic could amount to a criminal conspiracy — there’s the pretext for Obama and Reid to invite her to the White House for a “talk.” The question is, what if she refused to go when they asked her? What recourse would they have?

Anyway. The true beauty of this fiasco is that it’s only because the left is so absurdly, radically absolutist on this subject that Pelosi’s in any trouble at all. All she’d need from them in order to be free and clear of this mess is an acknowledgment that, yes, it’s perfectly understandable that her top priority in the year after 9/11 was protecting the country from another attack by any means necessary. She meant well but, in her zealousness, took a step that shouldn’t have been taken. If they said that, she could cop to having okayed waterboarding, issue the obligatory “I was blind but now I see” apology, and the uproar would be over. But progressives could never be that rational about this subject, so she’s left to twist in the wind and deny everything in order to flatter their sanctimony. Delightful.

Update: Via Greg Hengler, here’s Lindsey Graham channeling Andy McCarthy on FNC this afternoon. “If it was a crime, she was part of it.”