RIGHT SNOOPY - BIGTIME! 
Posted on 02/14/2006 8:05:47 PM PST by Utah Girl
Never has an accidental shooting occasioned so much glee. Whatever mistakes Vice President Dick Cheney might have made while hunting on the Armstrong Ranch in Texas this weekend, or in deciding how to make the mishap public, have been eclipsed by the disgusting wallowing in the accident of all his critics and the unsurpassable self-regard of national reporters outraged by a delay of at least 14 hours in getting alerted to the story. They worked themselves into a first-class tizzy at Monday's White House press briefing, proving that no matter what the story is, reporters think it’s all about them. It is understandable that Cheney would not consider notifying the media his first priority following an accident during a quail-hunting trip with friends, and the meaning that is being read into the incident — about Cheney's character, the administration's competence, Bush's foreign policy, and much else — is absurd.
That said, there are customary political and media rules about how to handle such things. Those rules require rapid disclosure. It was a mistake not to alert the national press of the incident immediately. And if an accident seems to be much less important than a matter of policy, that doesn't make it less important politically — oftentimes, it is the non-substantive issues that can be most powerful politically. With Harry Whittington having suffered a minor heart attack Tuesday morning, and still in intensive care 72 hours after the shooting, the perception that the vice president is downplaying the seriousness of the incident and not playing straight is going to be stronger than ever. There is a risk that the administration will sustain significant political damage from the controversy.
Cheney himself should make a public appearance on the matter, and the sooner the better. He should get himself with a respected national anchor — perhaps Brit Hume of Fox News — as soon as this evening to express his regret and explain in his own words what happened. He should stop relying on press aides who were not present at the accident to tell his side of the story. Not talking only feeds speculation, and aids the cause of those who want to lampoon and smear him. Let's hear from the vice president.
The Antique Media has a bad aim and they have misfired again. They go off half-cocked. They can't keep their powder dry because they wet their pants every time a GOP leader sneezes.
Cheney should tell them to stop popping off.
Very good. ;)
Great gracious G-d, my friend, if they weren't secularists generally, they'd be down on their knees praying that that poor chap dies.
Cheney is the VP of the United States of America. This is big news, regardless of it being an accident on private property.
However, the media has gone nuts and overplayed this.
I agree with you entirely. Where was that outrage when Vincent foster "killed himself" in Fort Marcy Park?
No one ever mentions that a 78 year old man could have offspring scattered all over the world, and they deserve to be notified privately before they see it in the press.
Oh yes, and fire David Gregory.
The next step is to criticize the VP for NOT making a public appearence to get this STORY behind him. You can be sure that IF/WHEN he does come forward they will criticize him for taking so long to do so.
Which leads me to the beginning of this silly story about an unfortunate accident. IF Cheney notified the WH Press Corps immediately there would have been wide spread media speculation as to WHY the VP found it necessary to get out in front of this story and not devote his attention to the well-being of his friend.
I am sure that there may even have been some whispered speculation that the shooting could have been premeditated because a statement was released so soon after the shooting that it makes you wander if the statement was prepared IN ADVANCE.
People said the President would have to come out an talk to Sheehan when the peaceniks were protesting loudly outside his ranch and it was the only story on the news for weeks. What political damage did that do? None.
It's the same here. Only short-term while the story is going on will there be any negative impact. The story might even help the administration by diverting attention from other more substantive problems.
The important thing is for Cheney NOT to expose himself to questions by the antagonized press corps. A press conference would be a disaster. An interview with a friendly reporter IF Whittington's condition takes a turn for the worse is about the furthest he should go. Otherwise he should let the media burn itself out because all the facts are there.
The public won't like the top story being:
And our top story today, today marks the 100th day of nothing happening in the wake of the Cheney shooting incident. We are here with PR expert/MSM whore Mr. X.
Mr. X, should Cheney come forth with all the details and make an apology for not reporting this story earlier?
X: Absolutely, random news show host. Despite the fact that Mr. Whittington has fully recovered and been back home for months now, the Administration still hasn't owned up to it's responsibilities. In order to put this incident behind them, Cheney must come forward to answer questions not about the incident itself but why he didn't give us every detail of the incident for almost 14 hours some 3 months ago!
RIGHT SNOOPY - BIGTIME! I aim to please.
The authorities were promptly notified.
There was no alcohol involved.
The MSM is misreporting the story.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0213061cheney1.html
Thanks for the ping!
You made it even better! Great cartoon pict of Cheney.
This time in Two Weeks will this be "old hat"?
Yep, it is.
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