One liberal habit that annoys me: the tendency to claim that whenever conservatives criticize liberals as weak on defense, they are "impugning their patriotism."

A version of this can be seen in Dana Milbank's article in today's Washington Post. Discussing the reaction to Kerry's comment that his candidacy is supported by many foreign leaders, Milbank writes:

Vice President Cheney, at a fundraiser yesterday, hinted that Kerry's claim was disloyal. "We are the ones who get to determine the outcome of this election, not unnamed foreign leaders," he said.

Disloyal? How exactly does Cheney's statement amount to an accusation of disloyalty?