Cheney reflects on 'f**k' yourself comment

[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/22/art.cheneycpac0222.gi.jpg caption="Former Vice President Dick Cheney told Dennis Miller Thursday that telling Sen. Patrick Leahy to ‘f**k’ himself was ‘sort of the best thing I ever did.’"](CNN) – Democrats were gleeful in 2004 when former Vice President Dick Cheney on the Senate floor told a senior lawmaker to "f**k" himself – a gesture, they thought, that was emblematic of Cheney's hard-heartedness.

Six years later, Cheney is looking back on that moment with pride.

"You'd be surprised how many people liked that," Cheney told conservative comedian and radio host Dennis Miller Thursday. "That's sort of the best thing I ever did."

Audio of the comments were posted on the liberal Web site Think Progress.

Cheney aimed the choice words at Sen. Patrick Leahy, now the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in June 2004. Cheney was upset with Leahy's criticism of Iraq contracting deals that the Bush administration had awarded to Halliburton, the company Cheney used to head.

Senate rules prohibit senators from using "unbecoming" language on the Senate floor when the body is in session, but makes no mention of whether the vice president is permitted to make foul remarks.