... and the horse you rode in on.

tomciav · **Posted:** Fri Jun 25, 2004 10:20 am

Cheney Dismisses Critic With Obscenity
Clash With Leahy About Halliburton(Friday, June 25, 2004; Page A04)"On Tuesday, Cheney, serving in his role as president of the Senate, appeared in the chamber for a photo session. A chance meeting with Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, became an argument about Cheney's ties to Halliburton Co., an international energy services corporation, and President Bush's judicial nominees. The exchange ended when Cheney offered some crass advice. "'Fuck yourself,' said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency."***"Ombud Michael Getler's phone will be ringing today," says Romenesko. I hope he responds with Cheney-esque language. Can we agree that "family newspaper" is a dated term, and that roundabout descriptions of salty language (especially from public figures) don't serve the readers?***

Matthew Grieco · **Posted:** Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:45 pm

(From Reuters)According to Senate rules, profanity is not permitted while the chamber is in session. But when the exchange occurred between Leahy and Cheney, the Senate was not in session so there was technically no foul.***One wonders what Cheney's punishment would have been if the Senate had been in session. Would he have been forced, as president of the Senate, to order himself to stand in the corner?***(And by the way: I agree with Tom)[ June 25, 2004: Message edited by: Matthew Grieco ]

ADKbrown · **Posted:** Fri Jun 25, 2004 4:26 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Matthew Grieco:
***One wonders what Cheney's punishment would have been if the Senate had been in session. Would he have been forced, as president of the Senate, to order himself to stand in the corner?***[ June 25, 2004: Message edited by: Matthew Grieco ]<hr></blockquote>From the same story: Even if the Senate were in session, the vice president, though constitutionally the president of the Senate, is an executive branch official and therefore free to use whatever language he likes.

Oeditpus Rex · **Posted:** Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:03 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by slummingreporter:
Wouldn't one expect that Dick Cheney, or any sitting veep, is actually quite a few heartbeats away from the presidency? <hr></blockquote>Seems to me that it's more like a lack of a heartbeat. And in Cheney's case, is it a well-chosen metaphor?

Jackie · **Posted:** Sun Jun 27, 2004 9:16 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Oeditpus Rex:
Seems to me that it's more like a lack of a heartbeat.
And in Cheney's case, is it a well-chosen metaphor?<hr></blockquote>Good point.
And I wonder about the reporter's motives for going for the "man a heartbeat away from the presidency" phrase instead of simply "Cheney said." I'm already getting annoyed at having to cleanse election stories of crap like that....it's a long way to November....

DEdits · **Posted:** Sun Jun 27, 2004 9:41 pm

Did anyone besides the Post run the full quote?

juliette14 · **Posted:** Sun Jun 27, 2004 9:45 pm

Although the Web site story doesn't reflect it, someone told me the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran the full quote out front.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Sun Jun 27, 2004 10:30 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Blythe:
Although the Web site story doesn't reflect it, someone told me the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran the full quote out front.<hr></blockquote>Good enough for me. Let's go with it![ June 28, 2004: Message edited by: blanp ]

tomciav · **Posted:** Mon Jun 28, 2004 11:24 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Jackie:
Good point.
And I wonder about the reporter's motives for going for the "man a heartbeat away from the presidency" phrase instead of simply "Cheney said." I'm already getting annoyed at having to cleanse election stories of crap like that....it's a long way to November....<hr></blockquote>From Slate:"Although the Post has received several dozen mostly negative e-mails and phone calls, ombudsman Getler believes that in printing the word, the paper did the right thing. He's more offended by the identification given to Cheney by Dewar and Milbank in the sentence in which the quotation was printed: '"Fuck yourself," said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency.' 'They should have edited that out,' Getler says. 'After all that long discussion about whether to use the word, the article should've been beyond reproach journalistically. That smart-alecky remark diminishes the paper and weakens the integrity of the piece.'"***The relationship between Dana Milbank and the current administration sounds icy at best. Says The New Yorker:"Milbank, who is thirty-five and short, balding, and low-key, is not popular at the Bush White House. According to Maralee Schwartz, the Postâ€™s national political editor, [Ari] Fleischer, [Karen] Hughes, and [Karl] Rove each complained to her about him, and suggested that he might be the wrong person for the job. The White House now says that it does not 'believe that anybody has ever asked for his removal.'"The White House, Milbank says, tried to freeze him out, and for a time stopped returning his calls. Some of Milbankâ€™s colleagues thought he was 'too snarky,' and Schwartz concedes that when he started on the White House beat 'there was a lot of attitude in his copy' but that this 'got detoxed in the editing process and Dana has come to understand his role better.' Even those White House reporters who sometimes think him snarky admire his independence. And Leonard Downie, the Postâ€™s executive editor, says, 'I think very highly of Danaâ€™s coverage. He breaks news; he explains to readers how and why Bush and the White House do things the way they do; he provides the political context for policy decisions and actions.'"***[ June 28, 2004: Message edited by: Tom ]

majorbabs · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2004 11:38 am

Snarky. Is that anything like smarmy?

SusanV · **Posted:** Tue Jun 29, 2004 12:09 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by majorbabs:
Snarky. Is that anything like smarmy?<hr></blockquote>Nope.For snarky, see any of the Thursday WashPost columns by Tina Brown. Especially the debut column.Smarmy is a whole 'nother notion. A smarmy guy is just a little too oily and gives you the creeps, because you know something ain't quite right. Smarmy frequently implies some sort of sexual undertone.[ June 29, 2004: Message edited by: SusanV ]

Jackie · **Posted:** Wed Jun 30, 2004 10:38 pm

Should I be worried if Getler and I had the same reaction?

SusanV · **Posted:** Thu Jul 01, 2004 11:43 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Jackie:
Should I be worried if Getler and I had the same reaction?<hr></blockquote>Not in my book, since I did as well.

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