VP Cheney accidentally shoots someone while hunting

[Stephanie]

He was drunk. Heck, they were probably all drunk.

Everything the man does is for a calculated reason. He's extremely intelligent. He even "admitted" to having "a beer" at lunch during Brit's interview, just in case any evidence of alcohol consumption comes up in a later investigation.

One beer does not make one drunk. He said he had it at around lunch time, several hours before he went hunting. UNLESS we hear otherwise AFTER the investigation, let's not make outlandish assumptions like these, okay?? The County Sheriff's department already stated that alcohol was not an issue.

[Pburgh]

Cheney's office said Monday night in a statement that Cheney had a $125 nonresident hunting license and has sent a $7 check to cover the cost of the stamp. "The staff asked for all permits needed, but was not informed of the $7 upland game bird stamp requirement," the statement said.

This is from the Associated Press.

[alicia-w]

no problem, i dont even like the guy! but facts are facts and fairness doesnt apply only to those people you like.

he shot his buddy. he feels badly. accidents happen.

did he handle it correctly? probably not.

do i enjoy seeing him raked over the coals. oh, yeah.

but the bottom line is that the situation is bad enough without inventing untruths to further inflame the issue.

[Stephanie]

no problem, i dont even like the guy! but facts are facts and fairness doesnt apply only to those people you like.

he shot his buddy. he feels badly. accidents happen.

did he handle it correctly? probably not.

do i enjoy seeing him raked over the coals. oh, yeah.

but the bottom line is that the situation is bad enough without inventing untruths to further inflame the issue.

EXACTLY!!!!

[alicia-w]

and on the lighter side (from CNN)

When Bill Gates appeared at a computer security conference in San Jose, California, this week, he greeted his audience with a quip.

"I'm really glad to be here," said the Microsoft Corp. chairman. "My other invitation was to go quail hunting with Dick Cheney."

Cheney's accidental shooting of his hunting companion is occupying a prominent and unusual place in the national zeitgeist, provoking hilarity and horror all at once. As the Elmer Fudd references fly, the 78-year-old victim lies in the hospital with a shotgun pellet lodged near his heart.

But whether you're amused or horrified, there's no question the incident has provided irresistible fodder for chat -- any kind of chat.

There were the undeniable comic implications, which late-night TV hosts grabbed with gusto. Although the story took on a much more serious tone Tuesday when victim Harry Whittington suffered a mild heart attack, that did little to stop the jokes.

"The guy he shot ... had a mild heart attack," Jay Leno said Tuesday night. "To which Cheney said: 'Oh you big baby, I get those all the time. Come on, walk it off!' "

It was one of 20 Cheney jokes Leno told in two nights. David Letterman told 21. As for Jon Stewart, he told his "Daily Show" audience after the heart attack that he was "downgrading" the story from "incredibly hilarious" to "still funny but a little sad."

"Late-night comics are the largest focus group in America," says Matthew Felling, media director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs in Washington. And in politics, he says, "almost nothing is out of bounds" when it comes to jokes.

Add the secretive nature of Cheney the man, which makes the incident all the more fascinating. "He leaves a lot to the imagination," Felling said. "That's manna from heaven for these comics."


It isn't just television, of course. On Wednesday afternoon, the Web site technorati.com, which monitors blogs, listed 2,960 entries on the Cheney incident. Some were serious and fell along political lines. "If you ask me, Democrats and their liberal base are privately hoping for the worst," wrote Matt Margolis on Blogs for Bush. "Who are the Democrats to criticize?"

Others, like actor/writer Steve Martin on The Huffington Post, took a satirical tack:

"Vice President Dick Cheney, while hunting wild geese in the Rose Garden, accidentally shot President Bush twice, once in the heart and once in the head. 'I didn't really shoot the President twice,' said Cheney. 'The second time I shot him, I was president.' "

Yet another reason for the obsessive coverage: "The metaphoric implications are irresistible," said Robert Thompson, director of the Center for Popular Television at Syracuse University, referring to the Iraq war. "If you look at the symbols, this hits you right in the face."

To wit: Stewart's interview with a fake "firearms mishap analyst," who told him: "The vice president is standing by his decision to shoot Harry Whittington. According to the best intelligence available, there were quail hidden in the bush."

Presidential mishaps, though usually less serious than this one, have always attracted huge popular attention: Recall, for example, when the elder President Bush vomited at a dinner in Japan, or when the current President Bush choked on a pretzel, or when President Ford kept tripping, giving a huge boost to the career of comic actor Chevy Chase. Or when President Carter said he'd been attacked by a rabbit on a fishing trip.

For one pop culture analyst, the current brouhaha is yet more proof of society's need to focus on "mega-events."

"The Super Bowl is over, Hurricane Katrina is finished, there are no hurricanes brewing in the Gulf," said Jerry Herron, a professor at Wayne State University. "This will be big until the next big event."

Of course, everything could change radically if the victim's health deteriorated further -- or if, in the absolute worst-case scenario, he happened to die.

"Then," says Felling, "there would be absolutely nothing funny about it at all."

[gtalum]

It's not exactly an outlandish assumtpion. Cheney has a documented alcohol problem. He admitted to having beer that day. He was probably drunk.

[alicia-w]

that probably borders on libel. what is your source for the "documented alcohol problem"?

[x-y-no]

Yeah...you do. You need to know the facts.
so....according to some report (which mind you came prior to Cheney's interview with Brit) Cheney turned and fired in the direction he had come from, behind him it esscense. Just where did you hear this???

From Mrs. Armstrong, the owner of the ranch. According to her account, she witnessed all of this while sitting in the car.

Cheney's interview with Brit, clearly defined what happened, and correct me if I'm wrong, but he said he turned to his right and fired, and at that moment saw his friend go down. The friend was in a gulley with the sun behind him.

I didn't see Cheney's interview, but all the reporting I've seen of it seems consistant with Mrs. Armstrong's account. Furthermore, Mrs. Armstrong's account has been out there being reported over and over again since the day after the incident, and no effort has been made on the part of the VP's office to correct or modify it. If it were wrong, wouldn't they say so?

I got to tell you...if I'm hunting, and I'm out of sight of my group, I'm going to think twice before I put myself in a dangerous logistic position.

So how would you approach that group, if not from the rear?

Bottom line however -- An accident! Cheney did the honorable thing by accepting full responsibility for what happened, which is arguably the victims carelessness.

Of course it was an accident. I don't know of anyone in this thread who has claimed it was deliberate. But just because something is an accident doesn't mean there isn't negligence involved. And From everything I ever learned in my years of hunting, firing in a direction you don't know is clear (especially when not confident of the location of all members of your party) is negligence.

We're just going to have to disagree on the arguability of the victim's carelessness. I don't see it at all. And apparently neither does Cheney.

[gtalum]

It would be libel, not slander. Libel is written, slander is spoken. But in this case it's neither, as opinions stated about public figures are generally immune.

The man has 2 DUI's. Anyone with multiple DUI's has a clear problem with self-control and drinking.

[x-y-no]

that probably borders on slander. what is your source for the "documented alcohol problem"?

He had two DUIs. Quite long ago, though - 1962 and 1963. I'm not aware of any later drinking problem, so I'd say he was just a heavy drinker when he was young, but not an alcoholic.

For what it's worth, I don't think there's any indication that he was drunk when the shooting happened.

[HurryKane]

So, remember that Aerosmith song "Janey's Got A Gun"?

I heard the parody today. This is all I remember

Cheney's got a gun
Safety's come undone...


I laughed.

[Stephanie]

It would be libel, not slander. Libel is written, slander is spoken. But in this case it's neither, as opinions stated about public figures are generally immune.

The man has 2 DUI's. Anyone with multiple DUI's has a clear problem with self-control and drinking.

As x-y-no said, they were from back in 1962 and 1963.

One more time...the County Sheriff's department stated that alcohol wasn't a factor. You can theorize all you want about a "grand conspiracy", but until the investigation is through, let's stop the speculating. It's not adding anything to this topic other than trying to stir the pot.

FINAL WARNING.

[GalvestonDuck]

i'm not sure it was 24 hours before he talked to authorities, though i do recall reading that it was the next day. the accident occurred at about 5:50pm and the VP was questioned Sunday morning.

Well, then the staff of the ER have some explaining to do.

[j]

I have to agree with you there Shawn.


On a lighter side - Gallagher had a good line...when asked if he would ever go hunting with Dick Cheney, he replied, "I'd go hunting with Dick Cheney before I'd get in a car with Ted Kennedy".

[southerngale]

Oh my, the conspiracy theories. Unreal.

At first, before Whittington had a mild heart attack, and everyone thought it was much less severe, this shouldn't even have been front page news, much less all of the hoopla surrounding it. And I don't care which party the VP comes from. It should have been reported, of course. But I could easily see opening page 5 of my newspaper and reading about the accident and how the guy was being held for observation but was expected to be ok.

But not with our media hounds. The story did change when he had the mild heart attack, though. Last I heard, Whittington was doing well. The main story should be how Whittington is doing now, not how long it took someone to let all of us nosy Americans know about something that has absolutely nothing to do with the job of our VP.

[arkess7]

Letterman was having a field day with this last night!!!!!!!!!!!

It was so hilarous!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gtalum]

...the County Sheriff's department stated that alcohol wasn't a factor...

I heed your final warning, and I don't want to get banned. But this will be my last line on this thread. The sheriff said there was no evidence that alcohol was a factor. This is very different from saying "alcohol was not a factor".

One reason there is no evidence either way is that the VP refused to speak to the police for 14 hours (my nearly 24 hour estimate was wrong).

[Pburgh]

Letterman had a field day on Monday night too. Too bad it was at the expense of Mrs. Cheney and their daughter. Very poor taste.

[alicia-w]

come on, where does it say he refused to speak to police. all it says is that he was questioned by police Sunday morning. how do you get a refusal out of that???

[gtalum]

Letterman had a field day on Monday night too. Too bad it was at the expense of Mrs. Cheney and their daughter. Very poor taste.

On this I agree. Take potshots at the Veep all you want, but leave the family out of it. It always irritates me when entertainers use politicians' families in their bits.