Cynical Nation

I've always assumed that language like this is the coin of the realm in today's politics, and probably has been for at least a few decades (witness the Nixon tapes). My question has always been, when did this start? How far back does the tradition go? We don't have tapes of Jefferson saying, "Fuck that Hamilton! We've got his nuts in a vice now, that prick!" although it may well have happened.

Still, they should probably reserve such flights of rhetoric for the back rooms. Cheney saying "fuck you!" to Senator Leahy was a bit unseemly, although I can certainly understand the temptation. I think the veep owes the American people an apology. As for Leahy? Fuck him.