Cheney Shoots and Scores

Saavy hunter and wiley sportsman that he is, Dick Cheney unleashed a load of buckshot into a rich Austin political appointee this weekend. The man, a Mr. Harry Whittington, is apparently doing okay. We think. No word on whether the quail escaped unscathed. My guess is that he and his quail buddies are laughing their asses off.

Think about it, because it isn't often that you get to contemplate this; the VP of These United States shot a man this weekend...and the White House didn't report anything about it for 24 hours. Why? That's the time it took for the spinmeisters to invent a credible story and make sure all those involved had it down pat.

"Mr. Whittington approached from behind and didn't announce himself...as he is supposed to do." That's the basic BS. No matter that any decent, experienced hunter does one thing before they pull the trigger; they verify that what they're shooting at really is a bird or a deer or a rabbit. From the wire photos I've seen, Mr. Whittington does not look much like a quail. In fact, he's quite a bit larger and more obvious than a quail. Add to that something I was taught when I was a young hunter; never turn and shoot behind yourself...because you don't know what's back there.

Here's my favorite part, though. All the rich hunting types are desperately trying to make this sound like, "Oh well, I've been sprayed myself a few times. It's really nothing." This is nonsense. Mr. Whittington could easily be dead or permanently disabled or blind today. The truth is, we don't know just how bad his condition is, because I'm sure it's beging closed guarded and spun by the White House. While I don't have any moral problem with hunting, I do distain the rich and famous who do it only for "sport."

The hunters of Ohio and Pennsylvania and New York and New England, who go out in search of whitetail deer and snowshoe hares and other game have nothing in common with these patrician pigs who would just as soon turn and shoot their political benefactors as they would a terrified rabbit.