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Is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi courageous or is she stupid? Is she a truth teller or is she a prevaricator? Most certainly, Pelosi deserves at least one of those descriptors. When we learn which one, it is likely Americans will add a second.

While Pelosi may be seen as many things in the eyes of supporters and opponents, her recent claims of deception by the CIA place her center stage. That is as it should be; because, if the accusation Pelosi has made is true at the core, there was, or is, serious malfeasance at the intelligence agency. If the claim is false at the core, there is a serious character flaw that cannot be excused because Pelosi, Speaker of the House since January 2007, is third in line to the U. S. Presidency.

In other words - like the national pastime's classic double-play combination, "Tinkers to Evers to Chance" -- in our other national pastime, right now, it's Obama to Biden to Pelosi. Yes, both pastimes are very competitive. But, in the end, one is a game; the other so much more real. If something were to happen to our current president and vice president, we cannot afford to accept 'Chance' in the line of succession.

Pelosi's repeated accusations deserve the public spotlight. And, that is where the American people must keep the House Speaker until we know the truth about her stated claim.

Here's a recap:

Last week, Speaker Pelosi called a press conference to read a prepared statement that the CIA misled her during a September 2002 briefing to majority and minority leaders of Congress. Those viewing video replay of the press conference see, and hear, Pelosi nervously fumbling with papers, in search of her prepared statement, instead of responding directly to questions from attending reporters about her accusation.

For Democrats, including the Obama administration, Pelosi fixation is a distraction. They say it's time to move on. Perhaps, it is; unless, of course, Pelosi is telling the truth.

If the House Speaker is telling the truth, she had better have sufficient evidence to back up the specific claim she has made that CIA briefers purposely mislead her and the Congress.

Noteworthy in all this is that Pelosi spent 10 years assigned to the U. S. Select Committee on Intelligence. That tenure is, in fact, the "longest continuous period of service in the panel's history". During her last two years (2001-2002) Pelosi was "the top Democrat on the committee"; and, is credited with having "helped lead a review of U.S. intelligence in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001".

Interestingly, those last two years include the time frame when Pelosi claims that the CIA misled her and, thus, the Congress. In no instance during Pelosi's tenure on the committee did she verbalize or document her opposition to CIA interrogation techniques or the briefing content provided to her or others.

When Pelosi rival Jane Harmon became the top democrat on the Intelligence Committee, Harmon did take issue with CIA interrogation techniques, and Harmon documented her opposition in an early 2003 letter to CIA attorneys. There is no evidence, so far, that Pelosi ever did the same.

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