Serious Side of the "Dick's Got a Gun and Shoots a Senior Citizen in the Face" Story

The "Dick Cheney Has a Gun and Shoots His 78-year-old Friend in the Face" story isn't going away anytime soon. As they say in the film industry, this one has "legs. "

Sure, on one level, it's howling-out-loud hysterical. Jon Stewart, David Letterman and Jay Leno were in comedy nirvana last night. I watched them all, and can't decide who was the funniest, cleverest or most grateful for this rich comic material.

I think Letterman's Top Ten Dick Cheney Excuses made me laugh the hardest. (#2 Until Democrats approve Medicare reform, we have to make some tough choices for the elderly. #4 I thought the guy was trying to go 'gay cowboy' on me .)

Daniel Kurtzman, About.com's guide to Political Humor, has the complete scoop on this goldmine of humor.

But there's a deadly serious, multi-facted aspect to, and many open questions about, this horrifying incident. Let's take a jog around the blogosphere to see what liberals and progressives are saying on the subject.....
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From ThereIsNoSpoon at DailyKos: "The Cheney shooting story isn't about to die down. I predict that the press is going to run with this story for days, if not weeks--and it has very little to do with the possibility of Cheney's being drunk, or with the 18 hour delay, or anything else. And this story is going to be much bigger than what we've seen so far in the White House Press Briefings.

It's because this story is a perfect metaphor for this administration's foreign and domestic policy. It says everything you need to know about Dick Cheney personally, and the way this entire administration operates."
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At TPMCafe from political pundit Paul Begala: "As a guy whose been hunting in South Texas for 30 years, and who's been hunting three times in the past six weeks, I cringe at the Washington Post's use of the benign verb 'sprayed' in the...Cheney hunting accident story.

When you hit a man with a 28 gauge (likely 7 and a half shot) and land him in intensive care, you have not 'sprayed' him. You've shot him....

Cheney, as a shooter, has an obligation to be aware at all times of the whereabouts of the dogs (who don't announce themselves) his fellow hunters, the guides, dog handlers, etc. I've been on hunting parties of ten men, and it's the obligation of the shooters to know where each of them is, and to be sure they are safe. "
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Addressing charges that this story was stonewalled, then whitewashed to protect the vice president, journalist and leading blogger Josh Marshall researches and discovers:

"We noted earlier that little more than an hour after the Cheney shooting incident, Karl Rove was on the phone with Katharine Armstrong, the ranch owner who witnessed the incident and was designated as the person who would speak to the press. Turns out her dad helped Rove set up his first business."

FYI.....Per TalkLeft, Katherine Armstrong is a Texas lobbyist whose parents, Tobin and Anne Armstrong, have been inextricably tied for decades to Republican politics, the Bush family and Halliburton Corp.
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From blogger My Little Life: "Obviously, I feel terrible for the man who was shot, and I certainly hope he makes a full recovery. However, Cheney is an avid gun rights advocate, and he has just shown why there should be better gun laws in this country. Any moron can get a gun, and possibly kill someone with it....

Now, the White House is joking about it, and authorities are basically brushing the whole thing off. A MAN HAS BEEN SHOT! He is currently in the hospital with pellets still lodged in his skin. Come on people, this is serious. These are the people who are running this country. Of course, now that I actually stop to think about it, I guess that explains why our country is in such a terrible state."
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And exactly my thoughts are expressed by blogger PanoptiConman: "Cheney is lucky the man he accidentally shot didn't die, unlike the thousands of Americans and Iraqi civilians who have died, some accidentally but mostly otherwise, in his illegal war based on a faked license to kill. "
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UPDATE at 2 PM EST - CNN just reported that Harry Whittington, 78 years old, shot by Vice President Dick Cheney three days ago, has suffered a "minor" heart attack. Mr. Whittington has been moved back into intensive care, where he will remain for "at least seven days."
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