Posted on 02/13/2006 8:58:59 PM PST by iPod Shuffle
Posted on Mon, Feb. 13, 2006
Cheney's companion at fault in shooting, White House says
By William Douglas
Knight Ridder Newspapers
WASHINGTON - The White House blamed the 78-year-old man whom Vice President Dick Cheney shot during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas for the incident, as officials struggled Monday to explain why they waited nearly 24 hours before making the news public.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan tried to absolve Cheney of blame for shooting wealthy Austin lawyer Harry Whittington, saying that hunting "protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington when it came to notifying others that he was there. And so, you know, unfortunately, these types of hunting accidents happen from time to time."
Several hunting experts were skeptical of McClellan's explanation. They said Cheney might have violated a cardinal rule of hunting: Know your surroundings before you pull the trigger.
"Particularly identify the game that you are shooting and particularly identify your surroundings, that it's safe to shoot," said Mark Birkhauser, the incoming president of the International Hunter Education Association, a group of fish and wildlife agencies. "Every second, you're adjusting your personal information that it is a safe area to shoot or it's not a safe area to shoot."
Safe-hunting rules published by the National Rifle Association and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department echo Birkhauser's advice.
Cheney has a Texas non-resident hunting license, but he failed to get a $7 stamp that's required to hunt game birds, the vice president's office said in a statement Monday night. He has since sent a check to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to buy the stamp, the statement said.
Whittington was listed in stable condition Monday at a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, with birdshot wounds to his face, neck and chest. The shooting occurred about 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Armstrong Ranch, a 50,000-acre spread in south Texas owned by friends of the president.
White House and Texas law enforcement officials haven't provided a detailed account of the incident. Katharine Armstrong, one of the ranch's owners, said Cheney, Whittington and another hunter got out of their vehicle to shoot a covey of quail. The third member of the hunting party was the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, Pamela Willeford, a Texan and a Bush family friend.
Whittington shot a bird and went to get it, breaking from Cheney and Willeford. Armstrong said Whittington then came up from behind without signaling, and as a covey flushed Cheney wheeled and fired his .28-gauge shotgun, hitting Whittington.
Whittington was tended at the scene by Cheney's medical detail before being taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Though the shooting happened Saturday afternoon, it didn't become public knowledge until Armstrong notified the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, her local paper, at midday Sunday. The White House then confirmed news media requests for verification.
The lag between the shooting and the reporting of it prompted questions about why a private citizen, not the government, was disclosing a shooting involving the vice president.
McClellan said Monday that Cheney's staff didn't immediately inform the media because the first priority was tending to Whittington's health.
McClellan said White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove told Bush around 8 p.m. Saturday that Cheney had shot Whittington, but McClellan said he himself didn't learn that Cheney was the shooter until around 6 a.m. Sunday. He said he urged Cheney's office to get the information out as quickly as possible. The news broke nationally about 3:45 p.m. EST Sunday.
Lee Anne McBride, Cheney's press secretary, talked Sunday about Whittington's condition and said the vice president had spoken with him and was pleased with his condition. But she referred most questions - from the names of everyone in the hunting party to what type of weapon Cheney had fired - to Armstrong.
"The vice president thought that Mrs. Armstrong should be the first one to go out there and provide that information to the public, which she did," McClellan said.
Cheney's office has a history of not sharing information with the public. Last month, it refused to specify the nature of a foot injury for which he was given medication that caused water retention and shortness of breath and sent him to the hospital.
"He's secretive by nature," said Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "It's a dumb thing for officials to do, especially someone as experienced as Cheney. Just imagine what Jon Stewart, Jay Leno and David Letterman are going to do to him for days. It's a self-inflicted wound."
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For more information about hunting safety, visit the National Rifle Association at www.nra.org, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at www.tpwd.state.tx.us, and the International Hunter Education Association at www.ihea.com. For the first two sites, key in the search words "hunter safety" to access the rules.
Meanwhile, any chance these reporters could cover the WAR on terrorism?
Can you tell?
That's what can happen if you follow people too closely
Yeah, well, so what's new?
I heard her myself.
She's the same one who asked if Cheney should resign.
Long blonde hair, right in the middle of the second row.
bttt
I'm not a hunter, but comments I've read from people who say they are hunters seem to agree with you. It's always the shooter's responsibility to make sure the target is clear.
According to the transcript at whitehouse.gov, this is what Scott McClellan said:
"I don't know all the specifics about it, but I think Mrs. Armstrong spoke publicly about how this incident occurred. And if I recall, she pointed out that the protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington, when it came to notifying the others that he was there. And so, you know, unfortunately these types of hunting accidents happen from time to time."
Frankly, it sounds as though Vice-President Cheney is hiding behind Scott McClellan, who's hiding behind Mrs. Armstrong. Instead of making a simple apology, and publicly taking responsibility for making a mistake, Mr. Cheney is remaining out of sight, letting others speak on his behalf, and they are implying that it was the victim's fault.
(And Scott McClellan DID sound as though he were struggling, when he appeared be claiming it took 22 hours for the hunting party and the Secret Service to get Mr. Whittington to the hospital. The White House is doing itself no favors when it sends McClellan out with this kind of line.)
I think these were very bad policy decisions on Mr. Cheney's part. I'd be willing to bet that tomorrow he will be pressured enough that he WILL make a public statement and apology, but it will not have nearly the good effect it could have had if he had done it on Sunday.
The media can't seem to get the facts straight in either case. Has nothing to do with "speed and essence of time". The sad part of it is, in this case, they're blinded by their hatred of this administration and their own political ideology and selfish interest.
Interesting - the NRA suddenly has credibility with the MSM.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
Enjoy it while it lasts, because sooner rather than later, the NRA will be back on the MSM's "Most Hated" list.
To the press because they were not notified immediately?
Does he owe you or me an apology?
If he apologized to his friend who else deserves an apology?
Harry Reid is drafting the Constitutional Amendment as I type.
The guy he shot was a lawyer! Get ready to be sued!
HIS staff asked the local authorities what was needed in the way of licensing BEFORE he went, and they were told what to pay, AND they DID....unfortunately, the local bureaucrats FORGOT to tell them about the $7 stamp....AND they expect US to keep track of all the regulations!!!
seems to me when Clinton busted his ass down Greg Norman's stairs because he was hammered the press bought Clinton's line it was just a freak accident with an "irregular" step hook line and sinker
the press was lied to and they knew it and reported Clinton's version all the same
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