THE VIRTUE CROWD CROWS: Leon Panetta, a decent guy, is shocked and stunned and appalled about the apparent lack of adult supervision of Mr. Dick Cheney. Panetta, who if I recall was Clinton's chief of staff during the stained blue dress era, thinks a proper White House should be run with more, um, decorum.

"I have a sense they have basically allowed the vice president to run his own show in the White House, and for whatever reason, the vice president is not accountable to the rest of the White House or to the president," Panetta said. "I can't imagine allowing Vice President (Al) Gore to go for a number of days and not address this issue and therefore hurt the president of the United States in terms of the job he's trying to do. The first priority in the White House is not the vice president. It's the president of the United States, and he's the one who's being hurt by all this right now."

Oh, really. Show me a single public opinion survey that shows Bush is being "hurt" by the shooting contretemps. Bull feathers. Ordinary Americans (defined as those who neither hate Bush with all their guts nor think he's Jesus's younger brother) are mostly wondering what's with David Gregory and is it possible he's taken to adjusting his own medication?

Some warned that the incident threatens to gel as a metaphor for the Bush administration, much as Monica Lewinsky's dress became wedded in the public mind with Clinton. "The 28-gauge shotgun looks like the icon for Vice President Cheney," said Ross K. Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University. "There are things that happen, images that emerge in the course of presidency that somehow come to define it," Baker said.

See, I agree that Cheney's situation speaks volumes for this administration — for sure. Here's where I depart from his critics. I find myself hoping Bush will find a way to promote his vice president. Like, could they exchange jobs, if only for a month or two. Anything to keep the rabid moonbat left howling.