Might As Well Be Shooting At the Sun

Jesse Walker | February 14, 2006

Dick Cheney, the Claudine Longet of the Naval Observatory, will not face charges for blasting his buddy with birdshot last weekend. According to CNN, "The state Parks and Wildlife Department issued Cheney a warning for not possessing a required stamp on his hunting license, but the sheriff's deputies announced there was 'no alcohol or misconduct involved in the incident.'"

Comments

|2.14.06 @ 10:39AM|#

So shooting a guy in the face is only illegal if you drink alcohol first?

|2.14.06 @ 10:40AM|#

"sheriff's deputies announced there was 'no alcohol or misconduct involved in the incident.'"

No, it's just stupidity that was involved and that's OK.

|2.14.06 @ 10:42AM|#

How do they know there was no alcohol involved? I bet they never even asked the question.

|2.14.06 @ 10:43AM|#

I cant stand thisadministration, and Mr Cheney in particular, but move along people. Theres really nothing to see here.

MP|2.14.06 @ 10:46AM|#

"The Vice-President of the United States of America shot an 87 year old man...in the face."

This was repeated ad nauseum on The Daily Show last night, admittedly to very humorous effect.

|2.14.06 @ 10:49AM|#

To be totally serious, I think Cheney should make a public statement on the importance of following gun safety rules and how deeply he regrets not doing so, and announce that he is taking a gun safety refresher course.

It's not that most responsible gun owners aren't already aware of the importance of safety. But the message sent to the public should be that all gun owners, even the most powerful ones, take safety seriously, and if something happens they soberly re-evaluate their practices to make sure it doesn't happen again.

A very visible show of personal responsibility is the least he could do after making a dangerous mistake that might cause the public to view other gun owners in a bad light.

s.m. koppelman|2.14.06 @ 10:50AM|#

Let this be a lesson to drunk drivers everywhere. If police want to interview you, hole yourself up in a friend's house and don't make yourself available until the next day.

|2.14.06 @ 10:52AM|#

Let this be a lesson to drunk drivers everywhere. If police want to interview you, hole yourself up in a friend's house and don't make yourself available until the next day.

And make sure you're the Vice-President of the United States. I cannot overemphasize the importance of that.

|2.14.06 @ 10:54AM|#

Is it a slow news week? There was an accident. The media is acting like the VP should be impeached for not reporting it directly to CNN as it occurred. I'm bored with it already, even as a joke. I'm just glad Whittington didn't get more seriously injured.

|2.14.06 @ 10:54AM|#

From a philosophical viewpoint, there shouldn't be any charges - quite clearly, there was no intent to harm the victim, so I don't see the conduct as criminal.

That said, here in PA we have a wonderful criminal statute called Recklessly Endangering Another Person, which is drafted so broadly that it becomes a catch-all that a prosecutor is nearly guaranteed a conviction on. Intent is entirely irrelevant, one only needs to be 'reckless." Which means that your liberty is almost entirely dependent on staying on the good side of the local prosecutor. I have to admit, I'd love to see some of our "law & order" politicians get caught up in the dragnet that they have created. In this case, Cheney was clearly "reckless" and could easily be convicted under the statute.

It's just one of those things - I know it's wrong in the grand scheme, but it sure would feel nice to see a little karma kick in...

Ed|2.14.06 @ 10:55AM|#

Sure, the year is young, but this is the biggest nonscandal so far. "What did The White House know, and when did they know it?!"
Sheesh, is the press that craven, or are we getting the coverage we deserve?

|2.14.06 @ 10:56AM|#

And make sure you're the Vice-President of the United States. I cannot overemphasize the importance of that.

I've found that being a U.S. Senator works pretty well, too.

|2.14.06 @ 10:59AM|#

its a nice sentiment, thoreau, and all-in-all I agree with you, but a public statement from Cheney is not going to change the opinion of anti-gun people - their negative view of gun owners has been bolstered by this incident. As a gun-owner, enthusiast, and hunter of game, I come across anti-gun (and anti-hunting) bias rather often.

Trust me, nothing will ease these dogs off of their target - this laughable, highly publicized occurrence has only given them lots of ammunition to fire back at the gun-toting citizenry of the U.S. At least round my way (central NJ) it has been the buzz of much anti- (insert word of choice: republican, hunting, gun, rich people, texas, etc.) debate.

|2.14.06 @ 10:59AM|#

The fact that Cheney accidentally shot someone isn't the issue for me; it's the fact that he tried to hide it.

|2.14.06 @ 11:03AM|#

AmyLou-

I have no illusions that it will change much, but when you make a serious mistake that could have been avoided with simple safety rules you have a responsibility to own up to it. And maybe serve as a cautionary tale to people who have let their guard down because they think "Aw, I know what I'm doing, no way will anybody get hurt!"

It might not change many minds, but it still looks better than not taking responsibility.

|2.14.06 @ 11:05AM|#

T - I agree. Better to take the highest road possible and be responsive to criticism rather than hide and try to laugh it off.

|2.14.06 @ 11:06AM|#

The fact that Cheney accidentally shot someone isn't the issue for me; it's the fact that he tried to hide it.

It's good to see Jennifer is still stuck on stupid.

MP|2.14.06 @ 11:07AM|#

Which means that your liberty is almost entirely dependent on staying on the good side of the local prosecutor.

That and convincing a jury that you weren't being reckless. I have no objection to reckless laws. People should be held accountable for their actions, even if it was supposedly an accident. There is a difference between sh*t happens, and sh*t happens because someone was being an idiot. That judgement call should be left up to a jury.

[rant/]My whole beef against preventative DWI enforcements rests on the premise that an alcohol related accident is clearly a reckless act, and thus drunk people who cause accidents should be punished hard, with the severity determined by the amount of damage caused. Strict enforcement of reactive punishment of this reckless act would obviate the need for proactive DWI enforcement. Unfortunately, for reasons I have yet to understand, many times drunks get off with a slap on the wrist, even if their actions caused someone's death.[/rant]

|2.14.06 @ 11:08AM|#

And good to see Bob still equates ad hominems with debate.

Who's going to be the first to say I only feel this way because I dislike the administration, but if Clinton did it I'd be perfectly okay with such behavior?

Captain Holly|2.14.06 @ 11:09AM|#

A very visible show of personal responsibility is the least he could do after making a dangerous mistake that might cause the public to view other gun owners in a bad light.

And in that regard, his office announced that he has already paid the $7 quail stamp fee and has agreed to pay the fine for the citation he received for hunting without the stamp.

Most non-fatal hunting accidents -- if they are determined to truly be accidents -- aren't criminally prosecuted. It is left to the civil courts to decide what punishment is necessary.

|2.14.06 @ 11:10AM|#

AmyLou-

The thing that surprises me the most is that the Secret Service allowed this situation to develop. As I understand it, these sorts of hunts are safest if everybody sticks together and keeps track of where the others go. If people are wandering around and getting behind each other or in front of each other or wandering into what they thought were safe zones then somebody might get shot. If my understanding of the situation is correct, then the incident could have just as easily gone the other way. I'm kind of surprised that the Secret Service allowed people with loaded guns to wander around and lose track of each other while the VP was around.

OTOH, they might have figured that it's better to not tell the boss how to hunt, and just stay far away. Can't really blame them.

|2.14.06 @ 11:11AM|#

Just to clarify: I don't think Cheney did an actual criminal act, but I'm wondering if it's occurred to any of the White House media people that if Cheney had taken some version of Thoreau's advice, and come right out and said "Yes, I did something foolish, and there's a lesson to be learned here" then chances are few people would think it was any big deal at all?

|2.14.06 @ 11:12AM|#

The fact that Cheney accidentally shot someone isn't the issue for me; it's the fact that he tried to hide it.

The fact that the guy he shot was a lawyer probably makes it more palatable to some.

The timeline of three hours until he reported to an emergency room is understandable given that Cheney's own people (as he's a walking heart attack waiting to happen, and probably has better doctors than the hospital itself with him 24/7) were doing initial medical care. There is also a report that someone contacted the Sheriff that eve, and the Sheriff said they'd come out in the morning to interview people. Obviously if the guy who's the one who is supposed to investigate wrongdoing doesn't consider it that important, why would it be so newsworthy as to call a press conference?

Assuming this is true, and they did contact the Sheriff in what appears to be a timely manner, since I read it on the internet someplace so it's gotta be true, there really is no story. No citizen has the obligation to notify the press when they take a dump, including the President/Legislative types/Supreme Court types, and their respective staffers and associates. If he hadn't reported it to the police, had a different story for the medico's, etc, then there would be a story. It's ridiculous to spend as much airtime (jokes aside, and well deserved) on this.

s.m. koppelman|2.14.06 @ 11:13AM|#

Thoreau:

Mr. Cheney should do those things if he has any decency, but it's telling that you're reduced to trying to instruct him on this.

What has actually happened in the three days since he shot Mr. Whittigton is instead an instructive lesson in Mr. Cheney's actual views on personal responsibility and the regard he has for people in his own social and business sphere.

If he's willing to throw a political crony and major campaign donor overboard and let White House staff blame a shooting victim for letting himself get shot, it's hard to imagine him giving a rat's ass about the regulatory concerns of a bunch of rank-and-file citizens, hunters or otherwise. I don't think it's unfair to look at his behavior and conjecture that the only gun rights Richard Cheney cares about are his gun rights, which are enshrined by his blessed status as Vice President of the United States and will be enshrined in his retirement by his status as a well-connected multimillionaire with access to private, gated 50,000-acre estates to hunt on.

|2.14.06 @ 11:14AM|#

No citizen has the obligation to notify the press when they take a dump, including the President/Legislative types/Supreme Court types,

True enough, but the guy who's a heartbeat away from leadership of a powerful country should have enough sense to realize that he should hold himself to a slightly higher standard than Joe Sixpack on a hunting trip.

|2.14.06 @ 11:15AM|#

Jennifer:

Could you please tell us what lead you to the conclustion that Cheney tried to hide the shooting?

|2.14.06 @ 11:17AM|#

In my short time as a gun owner I've seen people far more experienced than myself make mistakes (not shooting anybody, but mistakes nonetheless) and turn to me and say "No matter how experienced you are you can still make a mistake, so learn from what just happened." The guy who taught my safety class told us stories of mistakes that he made even very recently.

|2.14.06 @ 11:18AM|#

Akira--

Perhaps "hide" was the wrong word, but the fact that it took awhile to come out and then Cheney or his mouthpieces tried to say it was the shooting victim's own fault for being shot leaves a very bad taste with me. What the hell is wrong with taking responsibility? "I made a mistake, I'm glad it wasn't worse than it was, and this is why even the most experienced of hunters have to be careful with firearms."

That would have taken the wind out of the sails of all but the most partisan critics.

fyodor|2.14.06 @ 11:20AM|#

but a public statement from Cheney is not going to change the opinion of anti-gun people

You never should, or even need to, worry about the opinions of the diehards on the opposite side of the fence. One of a thousand of them will change their mind someday and the rest won't and there's little to nothing you can do about that.

OTOH, you should always worry, politically speaking anyway, about those sitting on the fence in the middle. You can let them be influenced only by the diehards on the other side, or you can try to exert some influence on them yourselves. Obviously, the latter is more effective (unless you screw up how you do it, but that's another matter). Cheney coming forth and speaking about this would, potentially anyway (unless he says something stupid) have a productive effect on the fence sitters.

Right?

|2.14.06 @ 11:22AM|#

Dick Cheney...will not face charges for blasting his buddy with birdshot last weekend.

To my surprise, google told me that that's pretty typical for hunting accidents, VP or not.

|2.14.06 @ 11:23AM|#

Most non-fatal hunting accidents -- if they are determined to truly be accidents -- aren't criminally prosecuted. It is left to the civil courts to decide what punishment is necessary.

I agree (with the very minor technical quibble that, in a civil action, a court orders the payment of damages, not the infliction of punishment). I'm no fan of Cheney, but he's not getting special treatment here. I'd be surprised to see anyone prosecuted for something like this. If Whittington wants to sue Cheney, that's remains up to him.

|2.14.06 @ 11:29AM|#

If you're the vice president of the United States, and you shoot someone in the face by accident, don't you think you have some responsibility to inform the public -- you know, the people you work for -- about that incident? I mean, it's not a huge deal, and it's probably far from the worst thing Cheney's done this week, but come on -- any decent politician knows the thing to do in this situation is call an immediate press conference and confess the whole thing and talk about the lesson you've learned.

It's one thing if Cheney's the CEO of Halliburton -- then I could see going to the property owner and saying, "I won't tell anyone; will you?" (which is basically what happened.) But he's goddamned vice president of the goddamned United States. How did he think that was acceptable?

|2.14.06 @ 11:30AM|#

MP -

I have no problem with criminalizing reckless conduct that leads to a result. However, the statute criminalizes "endangering" - which means pretty much whatever the prosecutor calls dangerous. I've seen several cases where shooting a warning shot into the ground was grounds for a conviction (on the defendant's home property, as he was warning a trespasser to get off, no less!).

If you're saying that my liberty's only protection in such a matter is the same twelve people that love to return multi-million dollar verdicts to idiots who think that using a lawnmower as a hedgetrimmer is a good idea, I'm not entirely down with that.

|2.14.06 @ 11:31AM|#

Sheesh, is the press that craven, or are we getting the coverage we deserve?

I think this provides the press with an opportunity to chest thump and feign "outrage" and show America that they mean business and aren't going to put up with White House stonewalling, without having to actually adress any topics of substance that may require critical thinking. It's press posteuring, plain and simple.

Could you please tell us what lead you to the conclustion that Cheney tried to hide the shooting?

I think "hide" is a strong word. But I have to question the judgement of this Administration. They could have just came out and made a public announcement and been done with it. Accidents happen, esp during hunting. It isn't a big deal.

What seems shady is the fact that it took something like 18 - 22 to announce anything press, and even then it came out because the PROPERTY OWNER told a Corpus-Christi reporter, and the office of the Vice President, when questioned about this, wanted to follow the pre-empt the property owner. Hearing McClellan's analogy about Armstrong being the host of the party and having first shot at telling the press is just odd.

Maybe they didn't try to hide it, but with the Vice President of the United States is less than forthcoming about a shooting accident, that kind of behavior is only going to fan the flames of speculation and whispers of wrongdoing.

Very poor judgement in the handling of the situation in my opinion.

|2.14.06 @ 11:32AM|#

his status as a well-connected multimillionaire with access to private, gated 50,000-acre estates to hunt on.

Glad to see you used "estate" instead of "ranch". Prince Charles once played polo there, for Christ's sake. This is more "Upperclass Twit of the Year" farce than "Cheney Lied, People (could have) Died" tragedy.

|2.14.06 @ 11:32AM|#

Sorry, the link to the "analogy" above is incorrect.

But I do remember seeing McClellan talking about how the host of the party is the one who should be reporting the events or something like that.

|2.14.06 @ 11:36AM|#

Surely this is all some private joke on Jesse Walker's part to see how stupid the comments can get about this little blip on the radar screen.

Sorry folks, there's no dead girls or live boys here.

|2.14.06 @ 11:44AM|#

"But I do remember seeing McClellan talking about how the host of the party is the one who should be reporting the events or something like that."

Is it even worth noting that the host of the party was coached by Karl Rove prior to any public statements? Or is a fact unable to be mentioned because it's too laughably cliched a sinister sign.

Jesse Walker|2.14.06 @ 11:50AM|#

Surely this is all some private joke on Jesse Walker's part to see how stupid the comments can get about this little blip on the radar screen.

Actually, it was mostly an excuse to make that wisecrack about Claudine Longet, which I see has gone over like a lead zeppelin.

MP|2.14.06 @ 11:51AM|#

If you're saying that my liberty's only protection in such a matter is the same twelve people that love to return multi-million dollar verdicts to idiots who think that using a lawnmower as a hedgetrimmer is a good idea, I'm not entirely down with that.

A agree that statutes that are overly broad invite prosecutorial misconduct. I also don't have a solution to the "jury pool = lowest common demoniator of social intellect" problem, but I still support the concept in general.

|2.14.06 @ 12:00PM|#

I'm always amazed by this adminstration's defenders?

Vice President shoots a guy in the face? Hey, no biggie. Why would he bother to tell the press about that? Anyone who finds that the slightest bit odd must be a partisan operative.

I don't know why I'm still surprised by this behavior, after the things I've seen shrugged off in the past five years. But I still am.

|2.14.06 @ 12:05PM|#

I like thoreau's idea, but there's a problem: when was the last time you can remember the Vice President admitting error about anything?

|2.14.06 @ 12:10PM|#

Actually, it was mostly an excuse to make that wisecrack about Claudine Longet, which I see has gone over like a lead zeppelin.

Actually it's gone down like a skier taking a bullet.

I wonder if most of the commenters aren't just young enough for the name Claudine Longet to mean zip to them.

|2.14.06 @ 12:10PM|#

In Texas, never leave a wounded lawyer laying ln the grass. Especially when you don`t have the "lawyer stamp" on your hunting licence.

|2.14.06 @ 12:16PM|#

joe, tell us you never voted for Ted & I'll take your professed amazement a little more seriously.

On the positive side, I hope you at least got a day off out of that snowstorm. As I recall that's about all snowstorms were good for once I stopped making snowmen...oh besides the pretty scenery.

|2.14.06 @ 12:19PM|#

Actually, it was mostly an excuse to make that wisecrack about Claudine Longet, which I see has gone over like a lead zeppelin.

Jesse,

I laughed out loud when I read it. Although I was a mere infant when the Longet shooting occured, I do remember the SNL skit rather well from reruns. Its funnier now that I am older and actually have a context for the skit.

Warren|2.14.06 @ 12:27PM|#

I've been indulging in a counter factual over this one. Imagine the same facts with Gore, Lieberman, or Edwards behind the trigger.

|2.14.06 @ 12:30PM|#

Again, this is much ado about nothing. I'd be surprised if the short delay in getting this to the press didn't have more to do with forestalling the media circus around the victim, his family, and the hospital itself than with any creepy political tactics. Come on, people, I don't like the Administration either, but this is not some horrid plot. Unless Cheney was really hunting the greatest predator of them all or something.

Incidentally, I heard that a Cheney aide called this into a paper in the first place, so "cover up" is grossly inappropriate language for this whole incident, if that's true. And the idea that the first thought of the VP in a purely personal accident should be to call the press is out and out funny. Can we use logic and common sense instead of partisan glasses this one time?

|2.14.06 @ 12:32PM|#

Can we use logic and common sense instead of partisan glasses this one time?

Is it common sense or partisanship that makes one believe it was pretty scummy for Cheney to blame the victim, do you think?

|2.14.06 @ 12:41PM|#

Jennifer, I have no idea what really happened. Maybe Cheney was a prick. Maybe he said, "I'm VP and can kill people for fun". Maybe Whittington was drunk off his ass and started making bird noises behind the VP. My issue isn't with the incident so much as with the complaining about the "right" of the press to immediate access. I'm all for open government and free speech, but this isn't the kind of thing I'm worried about. If Cheney did something wrong, then hopefully it'll come out upon further investigation. Until then, I'm not going to beat my chest. Of course, if he shot a copy of the Constitution, then he should be deported :)

|2.14.06 @ 12:42PM|#

I'm an Austin lawyer, and incidents like this make me grateful I don't have enough money to be a bigshot Republican donor.

I also know something about hunting accidents, having grown up in rural Texas. My father, my husband, and my first cousin are all hunters and gun owners, and they all think this incident is the result of truly blinding stupidity. The VP wheeled 180 degrees from the line of shooters to blast away at something he couldn't see. Also, in order to hit Mr. W in the face from 30 yards, the VP had to be aiming paralell to the ground, not in the air, where birds generally fly. That's why I think this incident merits attention, because it shows that Mr. Heartbeat Away doesn't have the best of judgment, in what should be a pretty relaxing situation. It's a very good thing Cheney was using a small-bore shotgun, otherwise this wouldn't be quite the jackpot for late-night commedians.

|2.14.06 @ 12:52PM|#

Pro Libertate,

Just because you personally think something is much ado about nothing, that doesn't mean that everyone who doesn't dismiss it is a partisan.

There are many elements of this story that make one scrtach their head. When I first heard the story I thought : "No big whoop -- accidents happen"

But the behavior of the Administration and the shifting facts of the story leave me thinking "Is there something more?"

The Administration is acting like it has something to hide. They remained silent about the events despite knowing that such silence would raise questions.

There are conflicting reports over where and when Cheney allowed the local sheriff to interview him, with the Washington Post, the NY times and the AP all having different accounts (some reports say saturday, others say monday).

There sure seems to be a lot of confusion for something that is "nothing". With all this confustion, wanting answers and clarifications is hardly because of partisanship.

And I agree with Warren. If this happened with Al Gore, this would get treated worse than the Vince Foster episode.

|2.14.06 @ 1:00PM|#

Let this be a lesson to drunk drivers everywhere. If police want to interview you, hole yourself up in a friend's house and don't make yourself available until the next day.

Like we don't know that already?

|2.14.06 @ 1:01PM|#

I don't know that it's really "nothing"; all I'm saying is that I think there's a bit too much hoopla over this. Like I said, maybe Cheney did do something crazy, stupid, or evil, but none of us has any clue. And if this Administration was less than forthcoming with something, well, that'd be a first, wouldn't it? Frankly, I'm dedicating my ire to the Administration's extra-legal acts and repeated ineptitude. If Cheney was trying to start a market in Soylent Green, I may get interested; otherwise, I don't see a big story here. Especially as far as the reporting to the press goes.

|2.14.06 @ 1:05PM|#

Besides, if the Administration's new tort reform plan involves hunting down and killing lawyers, shouldn't people in my profession be the most concerned?

|2.14.06 @ 1:09PM|#

I'll repeat what I said earlier: It sounds like this could have been prevented if everybody had stayed together and only fired into known safe zones. When people deviate from those rules then somebody can get hurt. I'm somewhat surprised that the Secret Service didn't make sure that nobody strayed. The incident could have just as easily gone the other way if people were wandering around in the brush and not adhering to safe zones. I'd like to think that they manage the situation REALLY closely when the people with loaded weapons are in the vicinity of the VP.

Then again, maybe they don't want to tell the boss how to run his hunting trip. I can't really blame them.

|2.14.06 @ 1:10PM|#

I don't think anybody else has picked up on this particular angle of the story:

According to the accident report posted by The Smoking Gun, Cheney's shotgun was a Perazzi Brescia. Checking at

this site

we see that the _off-the-shelf_ Perazzis sell for well over five thousand dollars. So a custom 28 gauge fowling piece like Cheney's probably cost even more.

Now some observers, (like Mark Steyn already has,) will try to link Cheney's hunting hobby with the lifestyles of the "average red-state hunter." I think, given Cheney's expensive taste in firearms, this linkage won't work well.

And, price aside, why can't Cheney buy a good American gun? Why does he have to buy Italian?

|2.14.06 @ 1:12PM|#

Pro Libertate,

It's one thing to say that this story isn't a personal priority to you. As it goes, one man's news is another mans nothing. But when you make statements like Can we use logic and common sense instead of partisan glasses this one time? the obvious implication isn't merely that it wasn't important or newsworthy to you, its that it shouldn't be newsworthy to anyone but partisans looking to score political points.

You may not see a big story here, but lots of people think that the Vice President of the United States shooting a 78 year old man in the face, keeping silent about it for about a day, and then not taking responsibility for any of his actions is newsworty, and that doesn't make them partisans.

|2.14.06 @ 1:17PM|#

If Gore had done this, it would be a weekly discussion point at Free Republic to the end of our days.

|2.14.06 @ 1:29PM|#

Uh, huh. I'm sure that if Cheney had reported this in detail, with video tapes and testimony, the discussion here would be completely different. I think it's instructive that people keep referring to the if-Gore/Clinton-had-done-it scenario. Exactly. Some people were silly about the malevolence of that government, too. On political issues, I'm on record as being pro-paranoia. But for issues that aren't purely political, I'm not. The real world is never as simple and as straight-forward as the hindsight brigade would like it to be. Am I getting ornery? Hmm. Sorry about that :)

Anyway, as I've said repeatedly, it may be that there's a story here. But there's only conjecture and extrapolation so far.

Incidentally, has Whittington spoken, yet? I suppose this might all get really interesting if he says, "B-b-b-bastard shot me for voting Democrat".

|2.14.06 @ 1:33PM|#

Karen,
Evidently you did not go hunting with your family.Quial fly low in the SW Texas brush country, doves and ducks fly high. I don`t know what altitude Austin Lawyers maintain, I`ve never been hunting in Travis County.

|2.14.06 @ 1:33PM|#

Karen,
Evidently you did not go hunting with your family.Quail fly low in the SW Texas brush country, doves and ducks fly high. I don`t know what altitude Austin Lawyers maintain, I`ve never been hunting in Travis County.

Captain Holly|2.14.06 @ 1:34PM|#

And, price aside, why can't Cheney buy a good American gun? Why does he have to buy Italian?

Just a note: In those highly-publicized (and spectacularly bad) photos of John Kerry trying to be a Good Ol' Boy back in September of 2004, I believe he is cradling an expensive Benelli shotgun. That would be Italian-made, for those who are not familiar.

Face it, I'd bet even Ted Kennedy owns an expensive Italian-made shotgun, for the same reason rich people tend to own expensive Italian-made cars: Because they can.

|2.14.06 @ 1:38PM|#

The other shoe has just dropped. CNN reporting the victim has birdshot in heart, has suffered heart attack.

|2.14.06 @ 1:41PM|#

Potatoe? Quial? Was that some shit!

|2.14.06 @ 1:47PM|#

Where is Quayle these days? Protesting Murphy Brown? Has any VP disappeared this quickly before?

|2.14.06 @ 1:53PM|#

You know what never fails to shock me? It is that the defenders of the Bush administration are always so eager to compare the contrempts of President Bush, Cheney, et al with the actions of Sen. Kennedy.

I thought y'all hated that guy? When exactly did he become the standard that you hold the leaders you approve of to? Because I'm pretty confused by the "it was okay when Teddy did it" routine. Were you all just hypocrites for the last two decades when you belittled Kennedy at every turn? Or are you literally waiting for a tape to surface of Dick Cheney and R. Kelly pissing on a fifteen year old before you decide he's fallen beneath your newfound standards?

I don't think this story is a big deal (funny as hell, though) but give me a goddamn break.

|2.14.06 @ 1:56PM|#

Press,
I misfired my "gun" and shot all over a young girls blue dress.

|2.14.06 @ 1:58PM|#

"And, price aside, why can't Cheney buy a good American gun? Why does he have to buy Italian?"

Because the Italians make the best shotguns. Beretta, Perazzi, Franchi, Benelli, etc.

So far as I know, the US Olympic Trap and Skeet teams all use Italian shotguns, too.

And no, this is not, as Pro Libarte has posted, "much ado about nothing." If the Veep can't seem to follow basic gun safety rules, I have to wonder what else he's screwed up.

|2.14.06 @ 1:59PM|#

So he shot a lawyer in the mouth ? I sense some invisible Karmic hand at work. At least he didn't shoot the dog in the ass.

|2.14.06 @ 2:02PM|#

It's all BULLSHIT!

Chenney really killed Willington three days ago.

The Spin is now that 'a piece of bird shot traveled to his heart a gave him a heart attack' this morning.

Next Spin will be:

"Poor bastard's heart just couldn't take it, and he passed away 'today'..."

Bull fucking shit! Chenney killed him three days ago.

Go Fuck Yourself Mr. Chenney!

sheeeeeiiiiit!

|2.14.06 @ 2:05PM|#

What all of this tells me is that:

1. Cheney spent too much of his Wyoming boyhood studying to get into that fancy shmancy Ivy League school he went to and not enough time hunting rabbits and prairie dogs, as my dad (nearly the same age and also a Wyomingite) and most other manly men of that era did.

2. The Big Washington Media are a bunch of blow-dried twerps who think they have a constitutional right to information before small-town media outlets.

3. The White House press corps needs to spend more time at the liquor store on the ground floor of the National Press Building and less time whining to Scott McLellan. At least they'd be more entertaining if drunk, and certainly no less informative.

4. The WH knew that this would be an embarassing story and understandably tried to keep it on the down low. If it were me, I would have gone for some "Red State appeal" and played up the angle that Cheney doesn't spend all of his time inside the Beltway sipping lattes, and that real men accept the risk, including the guy who got shot. Needless to say, the WH's approach didn't work very well and will undoubtedly keep this thing alive by giving the Press Corps the notion of a "conspiracy."

5. This is a huge story, especially considering how there is absolutely nothing going on in the Middle East at the moment.

|2.14.06 @ 2:07PM|#

So he shot a lawyer in the mouth ? I sense some invisible Karmic hand at work. At least he didn't shoot the dog in the ass.

Larry A|2.14.06 @ 2:26PM|#

Accidents happen, esp during hunting.

Actually, hunting is one of the safest sports you can participate in. From the Houston Chronicle, hardly a pro-gun source.

|2.14.06 @ 2:55PM|#

Pro Libertate,

You keep ignoring my point. If as you say it may be that there's a story here. Then it is not partisan to dig for the answers and to clarify what really happened. That really is the whole point of my back and forth with you. Why is it that you refuse to back off of that claim.
IMHO, the only "partisans" are the ones trying to convince everyone that there is no story when all the facts aren't out. Stonewalling is a story by itself.

Uh, huh. I'm sure that if Cheney had reported this in detail,...the discussion here would be completely different
I do believe that if the Administration was very forthcoming with this story, we would be having a different discussion. Do you really want me to believe that the press treatment wouldn't be different if the Administration wasn't obviously stonewalling? If Cheney et al. didn't act guilty and were forthcoming, I believe anyone who tried to cast doubt on the official story would be met with much more mockery. The whole discussion would have ended on Sunday if the Administration was more forthcoming. (Assuming that this case really is nothing other than a simple accident)

Incidentally, has Whittington spoken, yet? I suppose this might all get really interesting if he says, "B-b-b-bastard shot me for voting Democrat".

M

|2.14.06 @ 3:04PM|#

Ooops....

Scratch the part that says :

Incidentally, has Whittington spoken, yet? I suppose this might all get really interesting if he says, "B-b-b-bastard shot me for voting Democrat".

M

From my post. Even when I preview I screw it up

|2.14.06 @ 3:21PM|#

I don't doubt that Perrazis are fine guns, and I don't doubt that the VP can afford one. I was just trying to say something original about the incident.

With my old Higgins 12ga pump (eighty dollars) I hit everything I aimed at; never shot a hunter, though. Wouldn't need a $5000+ gun to do that, or to do anything a shotgun is for.

BTW, I voted for Cheney in 2004. I kinda like the guy, but his PR over this incident has been mishandled.

|2.14.06 @ 4:03PM|#

News Flash!

Administrations do not trust the press!
I'll go out on a limb and guess that this has been true since, say, Washington's administration.

Captain Holly|2.14.06 @ 5:49PM|#

Administrations do not trust the press!
I'll go out on a limb and guess that this has been true since, say, Washington's administration.

Indeed. Say, aren't you the guy who signed the Alien and Sedition Acts?

|2.14.06 @ 5:55PM|#

I wrote this poem years ago and this will probably be the last opportunity I have to share it.

Little Miss Claudet sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey
Along came a Spider
Who sat down beside her
And she blew the poor bastard away

And now for something composed just for this occasion:

Little Dick Cheney hadn't bagged any
Birds on that cold winter's day
When a guy killed a bird
Dickie shot the old turd
Just to teach him not to get in his way

|2.15.06 @ 2:39PM|#

John Adams (if that IS your real name!):

You misunderstand. You don't got the press immediately when a bad story breaks because you trust them. You do it because you don't trust them, and you want to control the story as well as you can. You serve as their primary source, you score points for not hiding things from them, you make your admission and contrition part of the first draft of the story. The press is going to get the story anyway - going to them first isn't doing them a favor, it's doing you a favor.

I don't know what Cheney and the White House were thinking.