Sorry: It’s “almost as if” Cheney wants to see America attacked, which narrowly distinguishes him from Osama Bin Laden, I guess. Unlike, say, Karl Rove, who’s the political spitting image of Ahmadinejad per Hysterical Andy.

“I think he smells some blood in the water on the national security issue,” Panetta told The New Yorker magazine for its June 22 edition.

“It’s almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it’s almost as if he’s wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that’s dangerous politics.”

Cheney issued a terse statement saying he hoped Panetta had been misquoted whereupon the CIA duly climbed down, insisting that “the Director was simply expressing his profound disagreement with the assertion that President Obama’s security policies have made our country less safe” without at all addressing the implications of how he chose that make that point. Actually, though, I think it’s cool that it’s safe once again to accuse your political opponents of supporting terrorism. It’s entirely consistent with the left’s view of Bush/Cheney as America’s principal enemies the past five years and it gives Gutfeld complete license to say things like this:

Panetta make a fundamental error in his reasoning. See, he mistakes Cheney for a leftwinger. Remember, it was during the Bush Administration that the left milked the hell out of tragedy and calamity to make sure they won in November. Liberal bloggers never met a car bomb they didn’t front page, and lefty pontificators would wet themselves whenever an opportunity to portray our soldiers as seething barbarians presented itself. Hell, you remember the mini-industry of films made about how awful the Iraq war was. They failed miserably at the box office, but helped achieve a loftier goal: they pulled crisis out of success, cementing a win in November.

I used to call these folks patriotic terrorists – people who claim they love their country, but need that same country to suffer, so they can win.

“Patriotic terrorists.” I like that. By the way, have I mentioned yet today that support for keeping Gitmo open has increased fully 15 points since January to 60 percent, thanks no doubt in large part to Cheney’s national security PR tour? Oh, I did mention it. A point worth making twice, then!