Big Lizards:Blog:Entry “And In Other News, the VP Shot a Friend of His Today”

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February 12, 2006

And In Other News, the VP Shot a Friend of His Today

Hatched by Dafydd

Hey, it isn't every day I can title a post like that!

It was a minor hunting accident; and interestingly, an eyewitness makes it clear it was more the fault of the shootee than the shooter:

Katharine Armstrong, the ranch's owner, said Sunday that Cheney was using a 28-guage [sic] shotgun and that Whittington was about 30 yards away when he was hit in the cheek, neck and chest....

Armstrong said she was watching from a car while [Vice President Dick] Cheney, [Harry] Whittington and another hunter got out of the vehicle to shoot at a covey of quail.

Whittington shot a bird and went to retrieve it in the tall grass, while Cheney and the third hunter walked to another spot and discovered a second covey.

Whittington "came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself," Armstrong said.

"The vice president didn't see him," she continued. "The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a bird and was following it and shot. And by god, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good."

Whittington appears to be all right; there is no indication that the shot from the small-barreled shotgun caused any serious damage:

Armstrong, owner of the Armstrong Ranch where the accident occurred, said Whittington was bleeding after he was shot and Cheney was very apologetic.

"It broke the skin," she said of the shotgun pellets. "It knocked him silly. But he was fine. He was talking. His eyes were open. It didn't get in his eyes or anything like that.

The VP's EMR team and ambulance treated Whittington at the scene, then took him to the hospital. Cheney visited him there and said he was "doing fine and in good spirits."

There's not much to this story; hunting is inherently a dangerous activity -- as are target shooting and hiking, the two components of hunting -- and Whittington unwittingly broke a cardinal rule not to step into the possible line of fire without alerting the shooter that you're there.

But let's see how long it takes for the Democrats to politicize it! (We should have a betting pool, except I'm too lazy to set one up.)

Hatched by Dafydd on this day, February 12, 2006, at the time of 6:32 PM

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Comments

The following hissed in response by: SDN

Too late. Sarah Brady has already issued a press release

The above hissed in response by: SDN at February 12, 2006 6:39 PM

The following hissed in response by: Mr. Michael

Any time a Vice President makes a populist move like shooting a lawyer, you can expect the situation to be treated as a political event.

Seriously, there will be a lifetime of jokes about this, mostly because the guy who got hit with birdshot has only a few cuts and bruises. Mind you, I personally would not like to be hit with birdshot; but the situation would be radically different if Whittington had been badly hurt. I really like Dick Cheney and respect the government service he has done over the years... but I'm still looking forward to all of the jokes.

Okay, maybe not the Letterman jokes, he lost his groove a few years ago. But Leno and O'Brian must be on their knees in gratitude this evening.

The above hissed in response by: Mr. Michael at February 12, 2006 8:26 PM

The following hissed in response by: Bill Faith

I Linked from Did I ever tell you about the time my Daddy shot his big brother? (Updated and bumped).

The above hissed in response by: Bill Faith at February 13, 2006 3:03 PM