Cheney was at work as an elected official when this occurred. It is an untenable argument that children already say it thus our leaders should get a free pass when they use expletives. The idea is to set a good example. I'm sure Cheney, with his wealth of experience and knowledge, could have expressed himself better than he did.
Wrong, they were NOT IN SESSION.
And, you are right, our leaders should set a good example. But, Cheney is like most of the rest of us.
I challenge you...if you, AUH2OY2K, had been openly accused of letting the young men and women of this country for the sole benefit of lining your own and your buddy's pockets, how generous would you be with your patience? How would you react if you were, EVERY DAY, lied upon and about? How would you react when the ONLY thing that people haven't accused VP Cheney of doing is killing puppies and eating them (though, actually, I'm sure you can find that somewhere on DU)?
Stop, please.
You aren't familiar with having to deal with this type of criticism and I am sure that you might not react how you are describing either.
Please, dismount the high horse.
They were not in session. It was not recorded or on the public address system. So how are "the children" know the word. Besides, Clinton made the expression Oral Sex a daily expression. Get real.
Cheney could have expressed himself differently, but would Leahy have understood? At the very least, we know that Laehy understood the language Cheney used. Whether or not Leahy took the advice we can only guess.