“I shot a lawyer and all I got was this lousy T-shirt.”
The public probably received the closest replica of a mea culpa that will ever be delivered by Vice President Dick Cheney over his shooting in South Texas of bird hunting partner, Harry Whittingon, on Saturday.
Cheney appeared last evening for an interview on Fox News, big surprise there. During the interview he took responsibility for shooting his friend while hunting and said how the news was given to the press was handled correctly. Also, no big surprise.
I’m sure that die-hard fans and true believers of Dick Cheney and the Bush administration are probably bouncing off the walls with glee. In essence, Cheney told the media to get hosed, a sentiment that resonates with many Bush-Cheney supporters. I guess from that point of view maybe Cheney did the right thing for his side. But there comes a point in time where obstinacy and arrogance becomes just pure stupidity. One has to wonder if the vice president’s actions are the right ones for his party, coming from an administration that seems to keep shooting itself in the foot, metaphorically speaking. The problem for the Republican party is that the self-inflicted foot shooting has become closer to reality than metaphor.
I don’t care one way or the other. Entertainment is about the best we can expect out of Washington these days.