Posted on 02/14/2006 5:31:24 PM PST by jmc1969
Fleischer, who was Bush's first press secretary - from 2001 to 2003 - told E&P that Cheney's accidental shooting of Texas attorney Harry Whittington on Saturday during a hunting trip should not have taken nearly a day to be reported.
"It would have been better if the vice president and/or his staff had come out last Saturday night or first thing Sunday morning and announced it," he said during a phone interview Tuesday. "It could have and should have been handled differently."
But Fleischer also took a jab at the reporting frenzy surrounding the story, saying most Americans are not as focused on it as the White House press corps. "The press is largely right on the issue--but it can be right and go too far," he added.
He also said that if he were still in the White House, he would urge the vice president's office to take some of the heat off Bush's staff: "I think you go to the vice president and say, 'you need to be handling this.'"
Fleischer's comments came just hours after Marlin Fitzwater, who served as press secretary to Bush's father and Ronald Reagan, also criticized Cheney, telling E&P he was "appalled" at the response to the incident.
(Excerpt) Read more at editorandpublisher.com ...
The fact that you are reduced to nitpicking such means you have no clue as to hunting safety issues.
Good night, once again. Thanks for violating freepmail trust. But I doubt that bothers you.
Is that so difficult to grasp?
No, but I can't understand why it is that it's only the WH press corps and you who care.
No kidding.
This must set your teeth on edge.
Like clockwork, some here enjoy twisting the knife, no wonder we haven't had loads of good men running for 20 years.
Everyone is afraid of the NYT bathhouse boys.
I said it occurred in Cheney's private life, as opposed to during the execution of his pubic official duties. I never said it was a private matter.
We've had a few other long-time freepers chime in about this. So it isn't just me.
But you seen to have problems with the facts, so that isn't a surprise.
When you shoot someone, IT ISN'T FRIGGIN' PRIVATE.
Once again, dirtboy has run away!
And anyone who rationalizes that away is either clueless or obtuse. I think you're both.
Good night yet again.
He said the pdf said the Texas investigators had found Cheney violated safety rules.
I saw the PDF; it doesn't say that.
I'm done here.
I've asked this of you more than once on this thread. Why, in your argument, do you have to rely on nameless other freepers? This amazes me. Why do you feel the need to speak for others?
Once again, you've shown you are amoral.
Nameless? They have chimed in ON THIS VERY THREAD. YOU ARE CLUELESS.
You are twisting the words on that form.
If it was a safety violation, they would have marked it as such.
The Vice President of the United States was involved in a shooting, there should have been an announcement made within an hour of the accident.
Something along the line of "The Vice President was involved in a hunting accident, the guy he shot is in good condition condition, and that the Cheney family was praying for a full and speedy recovery."
And all this is avoided.
What we have now is not a story about Dick Cheney being involved in a shooting, which would have died a quiet death. Now we have a story about the story, with a life of its own because it lends itself to endless speculation, and the opportunity to paint Cheney, and by extent the Bush White House, as arrogant, secretive, and aloof.
I guess I should have read the stories closer yesterday.
Good night, dirtboy. Happy Valentines Day.
I am not twisting words. Any sane hunter will tell you that the man who pulls the trigger bears responsibilty for the safety downrange of his shot.
If you disagree, I have wasted my time discussing this with you, for you have no clue as to basic hunting safety.
When democrats are in the wrong, under play it or ignore it.
When something negative involves a Republican accident or not, blow it way, way out of proportion.
The press has been doing this even before Reagan's presidency. It is a tactic that is nauseating, infuriating and OLD.
And it kills me when it plays well with people who are on our side and should know better.
I'm not interested in what hunters say; I'm interested in the statement you made that the State of Texas had found Cheney guilty of violating safety rules.
They did not.
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