With Friends Like This...

SO DICK CHENEY shot someone over the weekend. Under different circumstances I might have suggested that this news didn't surprise me. However, it appears it was an accident. Cheney was bird hunting with several friends, including Austin attorney Harry Whittington at a ranch in South Texas. Long story short -- Whittington took several shots (bird shot) to the face, neck, and chest and was rushed to a Corpus Christi hospital where he is now resting comfortably and is expected to make a full recovery.

But what's so interesting about this story is the fact that Cheney's office did not confirm (or mention) anything about this story until after it was reported on the website of a Corpus Christi newspaper. I'm no political insider, but it seems to me that if you're one of Cheney's top aides and you learned that your boss had just SHOT someone -- you might want to get ahead of that story.

When Cheney's office finally addressed the story (more than 24 hours after the incident), an aide told reporters that the VP had expressed sincere apologies to Mr. Whittington. I would have loved to hear that apology: 'Gee Harry, I'm really sorry that I SHOT YOU! Anyway...I gotta get back to Washington. See ya.'

At least this story reminds us all that guns don't kill people, but trigger-happy Vice Presidents can come pretty close.

JIB Note: I haven't consulted my history books yet to confirm this, but I believe Cheney now joins Aaron Burr as the only Vice Presidents to shoot someone while in office. If I have this wrong, semd me a comment.