Hunter shot by Cheney has minor heart attack. Doctors: Birdshot moved to Harry Whittington’s heart.
Of course the Cheney shooting was an accident, but it still helps illustrate the Bush administration’s curiously shifting history on issues of blame and responsibility.
Of course, Dick Cheney’s hunting accident was just that- an accident. No reasonable person would pretend that is anything more or less than what it truly is- but that’s not the issue here. The issue is with the way the news of this incident was handled and how it illustrates this Administration’s contempt and disregard for the American sheeple.
Outside of being fodder for comedians, there is no serious political issue in this accident. Oh, PETA is demanding that Cheney find a non-violent recreational pursuit, and there are other groups out there with their own ax to grind, but it was an accidental shooting. Where I grew up in northern Minnesota, hunting was what you did, a rite of passage into manhood for virtually every teenage boy- and anyone who hunts understands the risks involved in the heat of the moment. My fifth-grade teacher’s oldest son was accidentally shot and killed by her youngest son while they were grouse hunting one weekend afternoon. Sadly, these things happen. For individuals or groups to try to make political hay out of this accidental shooting is silly in the extreme.
What does concern me, though, is the way in which the news of the shooting was handled. It’s not necessarily that the American sheeple have a “right” to know, but the ham-handed way in which Cheney and his staff stage-managed the release of this information is indicative of the contempt and disregard this Administration feels toward those it is supposed to serve. There is no reason that news of this accidental shooting needed to be immediately disseminated to the White House press corps- outside of the fact that not doing so makes it look as if the Administration as something to hide.
Given the silly, inept way that this incident was handled, Dick Cheney has succeeded in confirming the perception of him as unaccountable, arrogant, and totally dismissive of his responsibility to those who put this Administration in office. Yes, Dick (“Go f—k yourself”) Cheney seems to have the political savoir faire of “Papa Doc” Duvalier…not that he really cares.
I am not trying to make a big deal out of a simple hunting accident for partisan purposes — just thought it was a good chance to pay tribute to old Harry, a thoroughly decent man. However, I was offended by the never-our-fault White House spin team. Cheney adviser Mary Matalin said of her boss, “He was not careless or incautious (and did not) violate any of the (rules). He didn’t do anything he wasn’t supposed to do.” Of course he did, Ms. Matalin, he shot Harry Whittington.
Which brings us to one of the many paradoxes of the Bush administration, which claims to be creating “the responsibility society.” It’s hard to think of a crowd less likely to take responsibility for anything they have done or not done than this bunch. They’re certainly good at preaching responsibility to others — and blaming other people for everything that goes wrong on their watch.
Of course the Cheney shooting was an accident.
But is it an accident if your home and your life are destroyed by the flood following a hurricane? Especially if the flood was caused by failed levees, a government responsibility?
This response is typical of the Bush Administration’s “not our fault” attitude. Our Glorious Leader may be doing what it feels it can to create “the responsibility society”, but that responsibility clearly doesn’t extend to the White House.
Cheney has a curious, shifting history on issues of blame and responsibility. He was vice chair of the congressional committee that spent 11 months investigating the Iran-Contra affair and author of its minority report. As John W. Dean highlights in a recent essay, the 500-page majority report concluded the entire affair “was characterized by pervasive dishonesty and inordinate secrecy.” But Cheney’s report said the Reagan administration’s repeated breaking of the law were “mistakes ‚Äö√Ѭ∂ were just that — mistakes in judgment and nothing more.”
Those of you who saw Cheney’s interview with Jim Lehrer last week may recall the passage on Darfur that ended with this:
Lehrer: “It’s still happening. There are now 2 million people homeless.”
Cheney: “Still happening, correct.”
Lehrer: “Hundreds of thousands of people have died, and — so you’re satisfied the U.S. is doing everything it can do?”
Cheney: “I am satisfied we’re doing everything we can do.”
His head still tilts over more to the right when he lies.
And lying is the one thing that this Administration excels at. After all, they’ve had five years to perfect their art.
If Cheney and his staff had immediately released news of this incident to the White House press corps they would have had to deal with late-night comedians using the accidental shooting as material for jokes. That would likely have been the end of it. Instead, they fumbled this from the word “go”, relying on a private citizen to notify the local newspaper in Corpus Christi. Now the White House press corps is having conniptions, and it looks like the Administration has something to hide. Nice going, eh? But there is some good news here: at least Cheney is praying for his victim. Of course, he knows that if Harry Whittington dies, he may well be facing manslaughter charges. If I was Dick Cheney, I’d be praying furiously as well…not that either of us actually believe in God.
This didn’t have to play out the way that it has. A simple and heartfelt public apology would have gone a long ways toward damping the public concern and outrage. Then again, no one would ever accuse Dick Cheney of really caring what anyone else thinks. Arrogant? Check. Inept? Check. Built to stay that way? Check.
WE DESERVE BETTER…no one moreso than Harry Whittington.
