The headline, a new classic, is courtesy of the Herald of Glasgow. But the link gets you to the WashPost, for a nice, thorough description of the Darth Cheney shooting incident. Highlights include:
Cheney was hunting illegally. At least technically: he lacked a $7 dollar out-of-state hunter's credential that Texas requires. No big deal, really. So do lots of people who hunt birds in Texas; but they aren't (a) multi-gazillionaire war profiteers; and (b) Number 2 in the Executive Branch.
Catch the spin: Yes, accidents will happen, and that's all part of the sport. We get it. But Scott "Pudgie" McClellan is going one step further, and trying to blame the victim: "The protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington when it came to notifying the others that he was there."
We prefer the response from a lawyer at the National Shooting Sports Foundation: "You're hunting together; you need to know where everyone is." Or from another Texas quail-hunter: "If you pull the trigger, you're responsible for it, no matter what…. In hunting, the shooter is responsible for knowing where the shot is going. That's the bottom line."
The White House delayed about more than 18 hours before talking about this, and would have kept silent altogether if it hadn't been reported in a local paper. Great PR move, guys. If they don't think we deserve to know about hunting accidents, of course they don't think we deserve to know about wiretapping, torture and secret prisons.
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