Washington, D.C. ? Vice President Joe Biden said he gave then-President George W. Bush an earful in the Oval Office. Former Bush adviser Karl Rove says Biden’s version of that encounter is at best an exaggeration — at worst a lie — and part of a pattern.

“It’s a habit he ought to drop,” Rove said.

The tit-for-tat between Biden and Rove illustrates both the vice president’s colorful way of retelling stories and Bush-era aides’ effort to protect their former boss. The pair tussled during media interviews this week in a political game without an obvious goal: The unpopular Bush is gone from Washington and Biden operates under President Barack Obama.