Monday, February 13, 2006

Cheney bags a big one

I'm sure that you've heard by now, but how can I not write about this? During a hunting outing in Texas over the weekend, the Vice-President of the United States, Dick Cheney, shot a 78 year-old friend. With a shotgun. And he is not a tortoise or anything like that. He's a human. Apparently the gentlemen had fallen behind the other hunters and was coming up behind them when Cheney turned to follow a quail in flight and fired, apparently missing the quail, but hitting the larger game, Harry Whittington, a lawyer and prominent Republican from Texas, in the face, shoulder and chest. According to the owner of the property upon which they were hunting, Whittington was "peppered pretty good" by the shot discharged from the Vice-President's gun. Well, as we can can see, this is hilarious. But what's even funnier is the reaction, or lack thereof, from the White House about this incident, and the delicate way that it is being handled. This incident happened on Saturday, but was not reported until Sunday, and not by the White House or by the Vice-President's office, but by a local journalist in Corpus Christi, Texas, who spoke with the owner of the ranch. Also, it is being said that Whittington was hit by "pellets," rather than that he was shot by a shotgun, making it sound like he was hit with a couple pops from a bb gun or air pistol.

You have to think that the thought went through Cheneys head to shoot the man again to make sure he was dead, then turn to the other members of his hunting party and the secret service agents present and say, "It was a suicide - you all saw it, right?" while still holding his weapon, a la Jayson Williams after killing his limo driver. Either that, or yelling, "It's every man for himself!" and then shooting at the rest of his companions. All in all, I'd say it's the second-best vice-presidential shooting ever - after the Aaron Burr-Alexander Hamilton incident.

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