We just can't take these guys anywhere...

When Dick Cheney asked for the chance to deliver a 'major foreign policy' speech at Westminster College in Missouri, they were delighted. Westminster is, after all, somewhat like hallowed ground for foreign policy addresses, famous as the home of Winston Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech, and the previous host to luminaries including Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Lech Walesa and Mikhail Gorbachev.

As the press release announcing the Veep's appearance said, “I received a phone call just a few days ago, during which a member of the Cheney’s staff indicated that the Vice President wanted to come to Westminster again,” said (college president Fletcher) Lamkin. “The strong historical significance of our Westminster campus – and the focus on values and integrity that we maintain -- provides a perfect context for modern-day messages of leadership and service.”

Then came the speech, and Dick Cheney's performance, a visciously partisan stump speech, was perhaps best described by Atrios, whose note on the event is titled "Farting in Church". President Lamkin was somewhat more diplomatic, but no less distressed, issuing a campus-wide email apology which began...

"I would like to thank each and every one of you who were so courteous and respectful to Mr. Cheney during his visit and speech. Frankly, I must admit that I was surprised and disappointed that Mr. Cheney chose to step off the high ground and resort to Kerry-bashing for a large portion of his speech. The content and tone of his speech was not provided to us prior to the event -- we had only been told the speech would be about foreign policy, including issues in Iraq..."

Be clear - Fletcher Lamkin is no wild-eyed lefty academic, viewing the world through lenses tinted pink by tenures at Berkely or Ann Arbor. A retired brigadier general, his last job was as the Academic Dean of his alma mater, the US Military Academy at West Point. Of course, what he learned there was duty, honor and a sense of propriety, elements of character sadly lacking in our Vice President.

But wait! There's more! Maybe Cheney's just trying to prove he can be as rude as his boss. Via boing-boing:

"How would you feel about a person who thinks it is okay to grab your shirt and use it clean their eyeglasses? That's how arrogant our President is. During a commercial break on the David Letterman show, producer Maria Pope was on stage and discussing something with Letterman, and while she was standing there in front of Bush, George leaned forward, grabbed the back of her sweater and used it to clean his glasses."

...and there's video!

Have we had about enough...and