Excuse me, but I didn’t see you say, “O’Donnell was right on some things”. You distinctly said, “O’Donnell was right”.

You see, Tom, YOU referred to the totality. It’s not our fault you didn’t read it first and ended up looking like a fool.

At least Cheney was in the field hunting birds, not chasing interns around the Oval Office with his pants around his ankles.

Because it’s the Vice-President of the United States, and I’m fairly certain that an ambulance is ALWAYS near by whenever there’s the SLIGHTEST risk of injury.

Even movie actors have to sign a contract stating that they won’t put themselves in harms way during filming.

I’m sorry, Hank, but as I work in the industry, I can pretty much state with authority that I have NEVER seen such a contract. Many times an actor will carry his/her own insurance, but in those cases, whatever they sign is their business, NOT the production company’s.

If they DO sign anything with us, it’s a liability waiver that lets us off the hook if they fuck around and decide they want to pull a Jackie Chan.

Eric in Hollywood

It was big of Cheney to say in his interview, “I pulled the trigger, I’m responsible”. Cheney choosing to be big about it does not erase the possibility (or likelihood) that Whittington may have walked into Cheney’s without giving warnings that he (Whittington) was obligated to give.

We still don’t know the real stories or details, except that, in very broad outlines, it’s almost certainly a story that doesn’t matter.

I don’t think the Vice President need hold a press conference as he said all that needed be said yesterday in his interview with Brit Hume. Like many others on the right, I believe he made a mistake in not contacting the press sooner, but this is not a matter of state.

Though it perhaps might be a stroke of media genius (something out of character for this Administration) for him to appear at a press conference with Harry Whittington as soon as he is released from the hospital.

To agree with and promote O’Donnell’s spin, which is to illegitimately attempt to insinuate (or create the impression in the mind of the reader) that Cheney was probably drunk, wink wink….

is to say, for all semantic or functional purposes, that Cheney was drunk.

Your efforts to get out on a technicality, “I never said the literal words”, are a childish game even (or especially) if true in the most narrow technical sense.

THIS is what Cheney should have done, in order:

1) Get medical attention to the victim.
2) Cooperate with law enforcement in reporting the facts to them.
3) Comfort the victim’s family.
4) Inform victim’s local friends and media.
5) Latest and least important of all, inform Washington press corps and give interviews.

Ooops, he did!

And for the record, please show where Cheney ever “blamed the victim”??

And the chances of Cheney resigning over this, or ever deserving to morally, or of being the slightest liability to Bush over this (among swing voters of course; not committed Bush-haters) are all: zero.

If Cheney had to resign

Those are some bad drugs you’re on.

Don’t bother. I have to respect someone before I give a fart what they say about me.

Tommy Tool, I don’t believe anyone “cheered on” Dobson, but only remarked on one specific incident of agreement, just as your “O’Donnell was right” statement refers to the specific incident of O’Donnell’s allegation that Cheney was “drunk.”

I guess when lying doesn’t work for tools anymore, they weasel and dissemble.

The talk show mantra this morning is precisely why Cheney screwed up by not handling this properly. He had liabilities coming into this (very low poll ratings, a perception that he is regal and aloof, accusations of inappropriate (not criminal indictments) dealings while CEO of Halliburton, Plamegate, WMD, etc.). And his behavior (not necessarily the shooting – but his response) plays into this.

The Dems weren’t really trying to score points on Tuesday. They are now. This is what he should have done.

1) Notified the Press on Saturday night.
2) Held a Press Conference (yea – a real press conference) on Sunday. Has he ever held a press conference? Is the VP too good for that?
3) Apologized on Sunday (by Wednesday its too late – the frenzy has started now – the genie will now have to run its’ course)
4) Don’t blame the victim – even if he was partially at fault – it looks bad – you shot him for crying out loud.
5) Don’t treat the press as your enemy. Even if you think they are the enemy, you shouldn’t treat them as such.

And for the record, I don’t want this to be some huge issue for Cheney (and it won’t be in the end). If Cheney had to resign, Bush could use this to ‘clear the field’ for someone in the GOP primaries in 2008 by nominating them to be VP. I don’t want that. I’m looking forward to the Brownback vs Allen vs McCain primary season.

You DID agree with and promote O’Donnell’s spin, which is to illegitimately attempt to insinuate (or create the impression in the mind of the reader) that Cheney was probably drunk, wink wink.

Sheesh. Stop weaseling already. Don’t give us the insincere martyr-ish apologies for what you say; just halt the weaseling! Don’t dig the hole any further!

Negligence, Tom, as you know, is something to be determined in a court of law. By using “negligent” as a way to smear the Veep while not using the antecedent word most people connect with negligent, namely “criminal”, you kind of got the beenfit of raising a red flag without being acused of jetting to unsubstantiated conclusions. Slick, snarky, and more like a political dirty trick than a valid debate tool.

Kind of like the Democrat pundits and press last night intoning that they hope Whittington is recovering and will pull through –insincere as that likely is– and then they go on to suggest maybe this underscores a greater problem with this Veep –his failure to apprise the WH of what happened at the moment it occured is evidence he’s been operating too freely and without good oversight for too long… he’s lone, rogue elephant that needs to be tied up at the WH. See, we get to feel good with our concern and then set it up for the slam. A new charge: Cheney is out of control! This morning on the talkshows, the hosts were piddling that very spin… good little Democrat lapdogs all.

And if you look back at my postings in this thread you will find that I was referring to his allegations of alcohol at the camp.

Not buying it. V the K is a liar.