"Cheney is not as bad as..."
Hey, we're not as bad as...
In 1856, in the middle of the Kansas slavery debate, [link|http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Caning_of_Senator_Charles_Sumner.htm|Senator Sumner was caned] to unconsciousness on the senate floor by Representative Brooks (the link mentions no use of profanity on that occasion).
And as long as we're comparing bad behavior in a deliberative assembly, here's how our benchmark of bad Saddam Hussein consolidated his power in Iraq in 1979 from [link|http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/4637/terr37a.html|The Pyramid of Skulls: How Saddam Hussein Came to Power] on International Review (again, there is no mention of profanity)
The meeting of the Revolutionary Command Council on July 22, 1979, started with Saddam Hussein reading a list of enemies of the state. There was a stunned silence at the Command Council, as many of the men present were listed as enemies of the state. Included were trade union leaders and religious leaders who had actually helped to consolidate the Ba'ath power. As names were read from the list, each were arrested and taken away from the council meeting. Within mere hours 21 of the men that Saddam named were dead. Not only did Saddam order the executions, but he also personally participated in the murders.
Bush/Cheney: so much better than the very worst we can imagine.
Giovanni