It feels like the first time we've met...

...but it also feels like things are going well in Iraq.

Cheney busted off the chestnut of the night with his avuncular admonition of Edwards for a seemingly lackluster Senate attendance record. The grand conclusion to his brief indictment was the rhetorical dagger, "The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight."

It would be great, really "you're no Jack Kennedy"-great, if that were true. But could it possibly be? Of course not. Let's go back to June 22, a day most of us remember for Cheney's infraction against Senate rules when he dropped an f-bomb on Pat Leahy during a photo shoot. That day also saw passage of Brownback's insidious "Defense of Decency Act" on a roll call vote for which Edwards was present.

Perhaps Cheney was too busy being a jackass that day to take a moment to introduce himself to Edwards. It's tough to take time out of a busy day of jackassery to meet 'n greet. Hell, Cheney couldn't even spare the time in his closing statement to thank John Edwards for his time. Perhaps he'd spent the entirety of his good will on thanking Gwen Ifill for hers.