Cussing's no stranger to the Bush White House

Vice President Dick Cheney doesn't own the market on swearwords like the F-bomb he dropped on Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy. Turns out President Bush has quite the mouth, following in a rich tradition of cussing presidents. "He uses the 'F' word as an adjective, a verb, and a noun," says one adviser. Ditto for the "S" word. But not often in anger. "It's more conversational," adds the insider, "like how guys talk." In a White House that prides itself on self-control, Bush doesn't swear much in the Oval Office and never in front of his wife or new acquaintances. "It's less in the Oval than other places. The more relaxed he gets, the more he uses it," another associate says. A Clinton-Gore aide says Bubba and his veep did the same. "They were very mindful of where they were," says the aide. Like past presidents, Bush is unapologetic about his cussing. In fact, when Democrats called on Cheney to apologize to Leahy, whom he crudely put down last month, it was Bush who blocked him. "Bush said, 'You said it, so don't back away from it,' " an associate says

And the response from team Bush?

It was very, very hostile. The reaction was: You betrayed us. Well, I was never there as a partisan to begin with.

Then I heard that [on the campaign bus, Bush communications director] Karen Hughes accused me of lying. And so I called Karen and asked her why she was saying this, and she had this almost Orwellian rap that she laid on me about how things she'd heard -- that I watched her hear -- she in fact had never heard, and she'd never heard Bush use profanity ever. It was insane.