Cheney Blames The Victim

In OUR sights: VP Dick
Originally uploaded by wonderbread74.

VP IS DISTRAUGHT; 'WHAT ABOUT ME?' SAYS VICTIM

PLAY THE DICK CHENEY QUAIL HUNTING GAME @ www.huffingtonpost.com

Could there be a story more befitting of the Lunatic Fringe as the second most powerful official in America nearly committing a homicide in the fields of South Texas?

Since facts are at a premium in the accidental shooting of prominent Austin lawyer, Harry Whittington by Vice President Dick Cheney we are left to ponder the case through speculation. Maybe that's what Wild Dick Cheney is hoping for?

Why did it take nearly 21 hours for the plugging of Whittington to become known in this age of ultra-quick news? Obviously, to buy time while the White House and Karl Rove concocted a bandaid to the problem.

What they come up was this:

1) Muddle the facts. Initially reports said that Whittington approached Cheney from behind evoking an ancy VP ready to kill at the slightest provocation.

"Boo!" said Whittington. "Bang!" said Cheney.

Next, an odd tale was passed along that implicated the bright sun was the culprit for Cheney not seeing Whittington in the foreground. Plainly, this muddling of the story, leaves out that Cheney quite possibly shot a man cowardly in the back.

2) Blame the victim. Pretty standard at the Bush White House. Bush operatives were passing along the idea that Whittington should have shouted an audible call to denote his location. It fails to pass the plausible stage.

Why would Whittington scream out when the other hunters were coming up on a covey of quail? The scream would have startled and alerted the quail, thereby, scuttling the hunter's target. Besides, the War Room at Salon.com reported that the NRA's safety manual puts the onus on the shooter as to whether the area is clear of unwanted targets, such as people.

3) Create Sympathy. Not for the victim, but for Cheney. The poor guy just shot what the White House is trying to say was a good friend of the VP, when he was mainly an acquaintance. Why did Cheney not cooperated with the local sheriff? Why because he was so distraught by the mauling of Whittington by his shotgun that he had to accompany the victim to the hospital. If that wasn't enough, act like you're going to cry when recounting the accident to the press.

To the Republicans base, this sounds like an honorable way to own up to his part of the accident. The problem is, that if you or I sprayed ball bearings at another person's face and neck, the local authorities would most likely want to question you at the scene of the possible crime.

When this story broke late Sunday afternoon, the ridiculousness of the tale--Dick Cheney shot a man! What?!--and the absence of any official facts screamed for the wheels of cover-up to begin rolling; and they did. That anything untoward happened on that ranch seems even crazy for even the most conspiracy-minded of us, but why attempt to keep this accident quiet? Is it just standard operating procedure at the White House or is there an important piece of this story that is missing and therefore, making what we know today seem incongruous with a rational mind?