I wonder if there were shots involved prior to the shooting? Rough sport. Driving around in an Escalade that has a wet bar in the
back. Stopping to get out and shoot farm raised birds that come when
called. Brave men!
Did any of you tune into the afternoon press conference at the Christus
Spohn Hospital (Corpus Christi Memorial), where Dick Cheney shooting
victim Harry Whittington is being treated? It wasn't as exciting as the White House briefing earlier this afternoon.
Peter Banko, the hospital administrator, and Dr. David Blanchard,
director of emergency services, stuck to their main talking points:
Whittington is definitely not croaking; he's in stable condition, not serious or critical; he's being moved out of the ICU, although
he's not being released today; and he's in good spirits, even cracking
jokes. (Banko and Blanchard declined to share any of Whittington's
jokes.)
Then came the press questions — which turned out to be as silly as those posed at the White House conference that we blogged about
previously. After Banko and Blanchard rehashed their talking points
about four times, Dr. Blanchard slipped up and deviated slightly from
the script: he admitted that not all of the shotgun pellets would be surgically removed from Whittington (who was hit in the face, neck, and torso).
The White House said today that President Bush was informed Saturday evening that Vice President Dick Cheney
had shot a fellow hunter in South Texas earlier in the day, although
the news was not disclosed publicly until Sunday afternoon.
The shooting, which occurred at about 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, left a
prominent Austin lawyer and Republican campaign supporter, Harry
Whittington, wounded by shotgun pellets in the neck, shoulder and chest.
"Chief
of Staff Andy Card called the president around 7:30 p.m. to inform him
that there was a hunting accident," a statement released today by the
White House said. "He did not know the vice president was involved at
that time. Subsequent to the call, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove
spoke with Mrs. Armstrong. He then called the president shortly before
8 p.m. to update him and let him know the vice president had
accidentally shot Mr. Whittington."
In a contentious news
briefing with White House reporters earlier about a subject that
captivated the capital today, Scott McClellan, the president's
spokesman, said he himself did not learn until about 6 a.m. on Sunday
that it was Mr. Cheney who had shot Mr. Whittington, 78, when the two
were on a weekend quail hunting trip along with several others at the
Armstrong Ranch.
I'm thinking the shooting victim is trying really hard not to let loose on Cheney... Look at the following statement...
"Whittington sent word through a hospital official that he would have no comment on the incident out of respect for Cheney."
It
sounds like a nice thing to say, but it really isn't. If he were being
a pal, he'd say, "Darn! My fault! shoulda told him I was behind him"
Just maybe
Cheney wasn't tippling, and maybe his pacemaker or defib device
(whatever it is) didn't malfunction; maybe the adultery angle is not an
issue. Maybe it was just pure chickenshittedness. Cheney didn't want to
deal with a misdemeanor investigation and that bad PR. If so,
chickenshittedtness may be what finishes him off as VP. That would be
poetic justice. I think that sums up a lot about this case, including
the shooter trying to put all the blame on the shootee. I think that
sums up most people's gut reaction that they will not be able to avoid
no matter what their politcal leanings: "What a chickenshit!"
If
this is true, he would have had a far better chance of surviving this
if he had just dealt with the laws and regulations like a stand up
responsible type of guy.
Burr was a good VP while wanted for murder in two states. Maybe Cheney would have seen the error of his ways and shaped up.
How
many wingnuts will be able to say "Geeez, it was just *shooting* some
guy!" Or, "Well, if he had done everything according to those overly
burdensome regulations, then the liberals would have...." Or blame it
on the "feminization" of society, you know, getting all upset over
knife wounds and gunshots and sissy things like that.