Driving that train

More from Cheney’s Politico interview. He used this week’s favorite Bush administration metaphor: “Al Qaeda in Iraq has been sort of the long pole in the tent, if you will, in terms of the opposition we face.” Bush used the long pole line for enrichment of uranium, copying Boo Hadley. These guys must be doing a lot of “camping.”

Phallic metaphors abounded. Cheney suggested that male congresscritters like Jack Murtha and John Dingell are letting themselves be ordered around by Nancy Pelosi, who “is driving that train. ... They’re not carrying the big stick I would have expected with the Democrats in the majority.”

Speaking of phallic metaphors, when asked about Sen. Thune, he said, “I hunt with the Senator -- he’s a courageous man.” It’s nice to know that Cheney has so gotten over shooting an old man in the face that he feels he can make jokes about it now.