I've had some time to reflect on the entire Dick Cheney hunting mishap. Much has been made by the late-night talk-show hosts. But beyond the obvious humor and intense irony, I can see many sides to the issue. First, let's hope the victim survives. Apparently, a piece of birdshot has lodged near his heart and has caused some sort of quiver. He is now back in the ICU.
I can also understand Cheney's world: This was an extremely traumatic event. Can you imagine shooting a friend in the face? A nightmare for any man. Besides, Cheney certainly had the situation under control from a medical standpoint. It would have been another matter entirely if the man was bleeding to death and the VP did nothing. But Cheney travels with a medical entourage. You would, too, if you were him.
The ugliest part of this story, for me so far, was when Karen Armstrong, owner of the property, told reporters that "Whittington made a mistake by not announcing himself as he returned to the hunting line after breaking off to retrieve a downed bird." Yes, there is such thing as hunting etiquette, and it is important not to break the hunting line. However, the knee-jerk reaction of blaming the victim struck me as, as we used to say on the Lower East Side: "punk-ass."
Cheney did, however, "go public" with his story today, and he accepted full responsibility for the shooting. I'm glad he has the courage to take the blame. It's the least he could do, considering IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SHOOTER TO BE CERTAIN THAT THE SHOT IS CLEAR. C'mon, Dick. This one clearly belongs to you.
Now, I must admit I love the irony of the situation. After all, this man is one of the key architects of the War in Iraq. If I remember correctly, Iraq did not attack us. We shot first and then "found out" that there were, indeed, no WMDs. Well, don't that beat all? It's kind of a "Ready, Fire, Aim" approach to life, isn't it? It truly scares me.
It makes me fearful to fully comprehend that our country is being run--almost exclusively--by Texas millionaires who have a tendency to shoot first, cover their asses, and answer questions later. Can you say Iraq? I can: Iraq. Iraq. Iraq.
Well, it's about time for dinner, so I'm going to sign off for now. See you all real soon.
Mike
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Right DocTorDee, Cheney is a loose cannon (or should I say canon - as in a "body of priciples" and has always been one, as far as I can remember. The fact that he and straw man George W. hold the top two positions in the Executive branch of our government, and were put there by the people (for the most part at least) twice, well, our country has clearly sunk into some kind of morass, or swamp - which once again gets back to the quail hunting metaphor. If you ever wondered how poetry and mythology got started - events like this one obviously lend themselves to it very easily. Anyways, speaking of the quality of our elected officials, check out my today post on Mr. DiVecchio.
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