Surprising Variety in Reporting Cheney's 'F' Word

By: E&P Staff Now that the dust has settled, and newspapers have completed a week of reporting on Vice President Dick Cheney's now-famous confrontation with Senator Patrick Leahy, it's time to compare how they chose to handle the vulgarity at the heart of it.

Only The Washington Post chose to spell out the "F" word in full, while others took a bland or at times creative way of tackling it. What is surprising is how much variance there was in relating the exact Cheney statement in which the "F" word appeared. Here's a scorecard, compiled by Christine Pelisek for today's issue of L.A. Weekly:

Los Angeles Times: "Go . . . yourself."

The Associated Press: "F- off" or "F- you."

The Boston Globe: Referred to the expletive as a "vulgar directive" and provided no other clues.

Calgary Sun: "(Bleep) off" or "Go (bleep) yourself."

Daily News, New York: "Go f- yourself."

The Miami Herald: "F- off" or "F- you."

The New York Times: "obscene phrase."

New York Post: "F- yourself."

Newsday, Melville, N.Y.: " - yourself" or "Go - yourself."