A "frank exchange of views": That's how Dick Cheney referred to his comments to Sen. Patrick Leahy on the floor of the Senate yesterday. When Cheney scolded Leahy for suggesting that the Veep was profiting from Halliburton's contracts in Iraq, the Vermont senator reminded Cheney that he'd once called Leahy a bad Catholic for his views. To which the vice president replied--all statesmanlike, I'm sure--"Go fuck yourself." These guys have really changed the tone, eh? And: A big "And how!" to this opinion by conservative talk show host Dennis Prager (via Atrios):

As for the liberals who think that using the f-word in public is no big deal, it is good to have them say so. Anything that clarifies the massive values-differences between the Left and the Right is helpful. We who are not on the Left think public cursing is a big deal, because we believe that people can pollute their soul, their character, and, yes, their society, just as they can pollute their rivers and their air and their lungs.