Vice president Dick Cheney was upset that Senate majority Leader Harry Reid has declared that the Iraq war has already been lost. Said Cheney, “It is cynical to declare that the war is lost because you believe it gives you political advantage.” I agree with Cheney that Reid, or any American leader, should not announce they feel the war is lost, regardless of their reason. It rarely does the team good for the coach to announce in the 3rd quarter that they believe the game is over.

However, adding comic relief to a difficult situation, was Reid’s response, “I’m not going to get into a name-calling match with the administration’s chief attack dog.” What exactly is the phrase “chief attack dog” if it’s not name calling?