So much for elevating the level of political discourse. The vice president of the United States ended a frank exchange today on the hallowed floor of the U.S. Senate with Patrick Leahy, the solon from Vermont, with these memorable words: "Fuck you."
At least that's the way some news outlets reported it. According to a DNC press release, Vice President Cheney actually suggested something anatomically more strenuous: "Go fuck yourself."
The Associated Press reported that Cheney either said Fuck off or Fuck you.
Whatever the vice president said, it sure didn't have the ring of "returning honor and dignity to the White House."
What could the esteemed senator from Vermont have said to so rile Cheney? Reuters reports:
"According to congressional aides, Leahy said hello to Cheney following the taking of the Senate group photo on the floor of the chamber.
"Cheney, who is president of the Senate, then ripped into Leahy for the Democratic senator's criticism this week of alleged war profiteering in Iraq by Halliburton, the oil services company that Cheney once ran.
"During their exchange, Leahy noted that Republicans had accused Democrats of being anti-Catholic because they are opposed to some of President Bush's anti-abortion judges, the aides said.
"That's when Cheney unloaded with the 'F-bomb,' aides said.
"I think he was just having a bad day," said a forgiving Leahy, according to CNN.
Cheney's not the only one on the GOP ticket known for his "bad days." The DNC released a list of other presidential cursing incidents, such as "Before Bombing Iraq, Bush Drops F-Bombs on Saddam" and "Bush Calls Reporter an A**hole During a School Event in Illinois." and, from Salon, a Hartford Courant reporters memory of what George W. Bush says he talks about with his father, George H.W. Bush. (The answer? Pussy.)
War Room will try to post an accurate version of what Cheney said as soon as the official Senate transcript becomes available.
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