In the latest issue of The New Yorker, CIA chief Leon Panetta says of Dick Cheney:

I think he smells some blood in the water on the national-security issue. It's almost, a little bit, gallows politics. When you read behind it, it's almost as if he's wishing that this country would be attacked again, in order to make his point. I think that's dangerous politics.

Cheney today struck back, saying, "I hope my old friend Leon was misquoted."

Hours later, the CIA put out a statement:

The Director does not believe the former vice president wants an attack. He did not say that. He was simply expressing his profound disagreement with the assertion that President Obama's security policies have made our country less safe. Nor did he question anyone's motives.

This explanation hung on a thin reed: that Panetta had said that it was almost as if Cheney wanted another attack, not that he actually desired one. Still, it did look as if Panetta had been brushed back by Cheney.

And Chris Matthews, Michael Isikoff, and I sliced and diced this episode on Hardball:

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Supreme Court Justice David Souter announces he's retiring, and Chris Matthews thanks the News Gods--literally. And it's another round of Pundits Gone Wild. I did my bit on Hardball. But the clip below cut off the second topic in this segment: Sarah Palin hanging out with biker-dudes. Too bad, Matthews tried hard to talk about her sex appeal without directly mentioning her sex appeal--while acknowledging that was what he was doing. He walked a fine line. And once again, Palin is the cable news gift that keeps on giving.

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On the run today. Afghanistan and other matters. But yesterday, I participated in an interesting mash-up of reality and Hollywood reality.

After appearing on Hardball, I was leaving NBC's Washington studio. As I passed through the lobby, I spotted Sean Penn, in a suit, looking (as much as he possibly can) like former ambassador Joseph Wilson.

He was filming a scene for the Valerie Plame Wilson movie. (Naomi Watts plays the former CIA officer who was outed in a Robert Novak column--and, no, Watts was nowhere nearby.) As I passed Penn, he said, "Hi David. Just finished reading Hubris." He was referring to the book I co-wrote with Michael Isikoff about the Bush administration's selling of the Iraq war and the CIA leak case.

Chris Matthews interviewed--make that, skewered--Ari Fleischer on Hardball, grilling him on George W. Bush's legacy: a lousy war in Iraq sold to the public with false information and a lousy economy. At the end of the long segment, Fleischer said

But after September 11, having been hit once, how could we take a chance that Saddam might not strike again?

Strike again? Was Fleischer pushing the canard that Saddam Hussein had been involved in the 9/11 attacks? Matthews was busy closing out the segment and didn't focus on this remark. But after watching the interview later, he decided this comment deserved attention.

Enter former Reagan Pentagon official Frank Gaffney and me. We were invited on Thursday's show to discuss Fleischer's comment and the claim--to which some neocons still cling--that Saddam was in cahoots with the 9/11 mass-murderers. The 9/11 commission said there was no link between Saddam and 9/11, but, yes, Gaffney still contends that Saddam was behind al Qaeda's attack. His evidence? Gaffney cited circumstantial reports, a book by discredited neocon Douglas Feith, and, essentially, his own hunch. Here's what happened:

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Dick Cheney is not going quietly into his post-vice-presidential night. With an interview he did with Politico--in which Cheney practically said it's a certainty that President Obama's actions and policies will lead to a catastrophic terrorist attack against the United States--the ex-veep signaled that he will be lobbing missiles at the new guys from his newest undisclosed location. Think of him as Mr. Wilson of Dennis the Menace fame, ever-yelling at the new kid to keep off his lawn. And it seems that Cheney is living for the day when--after some horrendous event has occurred--he can say, I told you so. The good news for reporters and pundit: Cheney will continue to be the source of good copy. I got my chance last night on Hardball: