February 13, 2006
Cheney's Hunting Accident: Much Ado About Nothing
You have no doubt heard, by now, that Dick Cheney went hunting over the weekend and accidentally shot his friend, Harry Whittington. Whittington is in stable condition.
Now the White House is being harshly criticized for not breaking the news instantly. The blogosphere is awhirl with conspiracy theories and tasteless comments and cheesy online games. One White House reporter even began shouting at spokesman Scott McClellan because he felt his questions weren't being taken seriously.
Enough.
Hunting is a dangerous sport. Anything involving guns is dangerous. (No, I'm not a part of the gun control crowd.) When you take a gun and go out to shoot it, accidents are always a possibility. Cheney and any other hunter can tell you this. Heck, my brother-in-law can tell you this.
No one seems to care that Harry Whittington was injured. They only care that they can finally "get" Dick Cheney on something, and that they can "get" the White House on not releasing the news the moment they received it.
In the world of 24-hour news cycles and instant access, some cry conspiracy theory if they don't get the information when they believe they should have had it. Do people really think that this kind of thing could have been hushed up? So we found out a day later. Big deal.
I hate to tell you this, but I doubt criminal charges will be filed against Cheney or the White House. So get over yourselves, and wish Harry Whittington a speedy recovery.
Fun time: Who do you want Dick to take on a hunting trip with him? Rachel at Tinkerty Tonk is starting a list.
Show Comments »
I agree with Novak when he says the WH blew it by not releasing the info immediately. He thinks they held the info because they didn't want it in the Sunday papers, nor the Sunday round-table discussions. I can see why they wouldn't, but they had to know they were going to take flack.
Posted by: THIRDWAVEDAVE at February 13, 2006 11:37 PM
