Truth, lies, and intelligence

By Scot Lehigh, Globe Columnist | November 25, 2005

YOU KNOW Dick Cheney is feeling the heat when he hides behind John McCain.

This week, the man lobbying to exempt the CIA from Senator McCain's antitorture amendment used the popular Arizona senator as a shield against renewed questions about the administration's characterization of prewar intelligence.

''The flaws in the intelligence are plain enough in hindsight, but any suggestion that prewar information was distorted, hyped, or fabricated by the leader of the nation is utterly false," Cheney said in a Monday speech. ''Senator McCain put it best: 'It is a lie to say that the president lied to the American people.' "