Originally posted by: DealMonkey
I want to chime in on this topic.
The right-wing hate radio types are amazed (AMAZED!) that the fact Cheney shot a man is a big story in the main-stream media right now. They shouldn't be. I mean, how stupid do you have to be to think "Cheney Shoots Friend in Face" is not going to be a big story. Come on. We're talking about the Vice President of the U.S. shooting a man. So this first talking point is beyond lame. Beyond it!
The second talking point seems to be that "Oh Cheney just shot his friend, of course he's going to be more concerned about his friend's health than telling the media right away."
Look, sure we understand that. I'm willing to take on face value the fact that the whole thing was an accident. I mean they probably had a few beers or whatever, but hey these things happen. And of course you attend to your friend's health first. Get him to the hospital. Notify all of his family. But after all of that is taken care of, a normal decent person who is an elected official would then try to set the record straight with the media. Come out with an announcement. Talk to the press. Tell the American people what happened in your own words.
This whole business that Cheney was obsessed with getting the story out "acc-rate" is beyond retarded. The very next day he could have gone public with exactly what he knew at the time. Which is: "There's been a hunting accident. My friend was hit with some birdshot. He's in the hospital, but he's doing fine." End of story.
But what does Cheney do? He clams up. Tries to minimize the story by sending some 3rd party to some podunk little Texas paper so it looks like some little blurb. Try to manage the story. Stay silent from Saturday (the day it happened) until today when he goes on Fox News -- does Cheney ever do an interview anywhere else? -- and takes some softballs from GOP-cheerleader Brit Hume.
Now, the thing about Cheney is ... nobody really like the man. He's creepy, he's paranoid, he's lied blatently to the media and the American people. So when someone like Cheney pulls this sort of crap, you instinctually start wondering what it is the guy's hiding. I'm not suggesting a cover up, but normal thinking people are looking at this and wondering WTF?
I know I am. And the right-wing apologists throwing up their hands and going "Why is this even a story to begin with?" are looking damned moronic at this point. If they don't know that "Cheney Shoots Guy in Face" doesn't make for a fantastic media circus then they're even stupider than I've been giving them credit for.
And then, even worse in my opinion, are the comparisons to the Clinton Administration. I mean, why are we even talking about them? Yes, they did their share of weird paranoid things too, but this is not a contest to determine whose worse. This is about the here and now. Two wrongs don't make a right. It's a stupid line of thinking that compounds the stupidity of the "why is this even a story" BS.
Look, bottom line -- the VP of our country shot a guy, who was a little touch and go just yesterday, and this is by its very nature a HUGE story. Yes, it probably was an accident. Quite possibly an intoxicated accident, but whatever. For the VP to act like he doesn't need to give any explanation to ANYONE, except to home turf Fox News Channel 5 days later, goes beyond arrogant.
