It's a win for NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX, and a loss for the FCC and the Bush administration. Yesterday, a federal appeals panel struck down the current government policy of fining stations that air shows that contain bad words. And the logic it used is priceless:

If President Bush and Vice President Cheney can blurt out vulgar language, then the government cannot punish broadcast television stations for broadcasting the same fleeting contexts.

The lesson here? Live by the sword, die by the sword.

Mr. Bush was caught on videotape last July using a common vulgarity that the commission finds objectionable in a conversation with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain. Three years ago, Mr. Cheney was widely reported to have muttered an angry obscene version of "get lost" to Senator Patrick Leahy on the floor of the United States Senate.

The verdict comes as a relief to network executives. Now, the next time a camera inadvertently broadcasts the president or vice president letting fly with such an unholy expletive, these television stations won't have to pick up the tab.