Cheney shooting: Nagging Mysteries Remain
Dick Polman
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Seattle Times
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Philadelphia (US):
Vice President Dick Cheney, in his sitdown with Fox News' Brit Hume, sought to convey two messages about his hunting accident: He's taking the blame, and he feels bad about it.
But he still thinks the news about a U.S. vice president pumping birdshot into a 78-year-old lawyer didn't warrant speedy disclosure to the public ("I was there on a private weekend with friends on a private ranch").
And he volunteered no information about a slew of nagging mysteries:Cheney said in the Wednesday interview that "the White House was notified" about the shooting Saturday night. But who exactly informed White House chief of staff Andrew Card about the shooting, without telling Card who the shooter was? Did Card not ask who it was? Shortly thereafter, according to the White House, Card told President Bush that a shooting had occurred but said nothing to Bush about a shooter. Did Bush not ask who it was?
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See Also:
Cheney won't be charged, has Bush's support
Police clear Cheney over shooting accident
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Bush strategist Karl Rove discussed the shooting with ranch owner Katharine Armstrong about 8 p.m. and was told Cheney was the shooter.
But did Rove, or anyone else at the White House, suggest that speedy disclosure might be preferred? Press secretary Scott McClellan speedily disclosed Bush's bike collision with a cop during an economic summit in Scotland last year.
Armstrong has told The Associated Press that after victim Harry Whittington was taken to the hospital, the hunting party sat down to dinner at the ranch yet never discussed public disclosure.Given that virtually all the diners were veteran Republicans with decades of experience in party politics and that Cheney had become the first vice president since Aaron Burr to shoot a man, in 1804, was that the right response?
feb 17, 2006
Dick Polman
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Seattle Times
_________
Philadelphia (US):
Vice President Dick Cheney, in his sitdown with Fox News' Brit Hume, sought to convey two messages about his hunting accident: He's taking the blame, and he feels bad about it.
But he still thinks the news about a U.S. vice president pumping birdshot into a 78-year-old lawyer didn't warrant speedy disclosure to the public ("I was there on a private weekend with friends on a private ranch").
And he volunteered no information about a slew of nagging mysteries:Cheney said in the Wednesday interview that "the White House was notified" about the shooting Saturday night. But who exactly informed White House chief of staff Andrew Card about the shooting, without telling Card who the shooter was? Did Card not ask who it was? Shortly thereafter, according to the White House, Card told President Bush that a shooting had occurred but said nothing to Bush about a shooter. Did Bush not ask who it was?
_________________
See Also:
Cheney won't be charged, has Bush's support
Police clear Cheney over shooting accident
_________________
Bush strategist Karl Rove discussed the shooting with ranch owner Katharine Armstrong about 8 p.m. and was told Cheney was the shooter.
But did Rove, or anyone else at the White House, suggest that speedy disclosure might be preferred? Press secretary Scott McClellan speedily disclosed Bush's bike collision with a cop during an economic summit in Scotland last year.
Armstrong has told The Associated Press that after victim Harry Whittington was taken to the hospital, the hunting party sat down to dinner at the ranch yet never discussed public disclosure.Given that virtually all the diners were veteran Republicans with decades of experience in party politics and that Cheney had become the first vice president since Aaron Burr to shoot a man, in 1804, was that the right response?
feb 17, 2006
