White House Takes Fire in Cheney Hunting Mishap

Accidental blood on the hunting ground is now predictably followed by a feeding frenzy in the White House media pool.

The Bush White House took a pounding from reporters today for not immediately disclosing Saturday night that Vice President Dick Cheney had accidentally shot a fellow hunter, sending him to the hospital with shotgun pellet wounds in his face and chest.

During his daily briefing, Press Secretary Scott McClellan said that Cheney had agreed to allow a member of the hunting party and an eyewitness to the shooting, Katharine Armstrong, to call a reporter for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times on Sunday to report the incident.

The newspaper quickly posted the story on its website. Cheney’s press aides then answered some rudimentary questions, but provided few details.

The incident at the vast Armstrong family ranch in South Texas occurred about 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The victim was Harry Whittington, an Austin attorney, who was listed in stable condition today at Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi.

Peter Banko, the hospital administrator, said Whittington would be transferred to a “step-down” unit later today, indicating progress in the treatment.

McClellan insisted that the vice president’s and his staff’s overriding concern after the shooting was getting Whittington proper medical care. McClellan said that top White House aides, including chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr., were being updated in Washington with fragmentary information throughout the night and into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

“The initial report that we received was that there had been a hunting accident. We didn’t know who all was involved, but a member of his party was involved in that hunting accident, and then additional details continued to come in overnight,” McClellan said.

“It’s important always to work to make sure you get information out like this as quickly as possible, but it’s also important to make sure that the first priority is focused where it should be, and that is making sure that Mr. Whittington has the care that he needs,” he said.

After the shooting, Cheney rushed to Whittington’s assistance, McClellan said.

[Sad attempt at NSA/Katrina tie-in deleted. Check the source if you want the garbage]

The White House’s hands-off role in Saturday’s accident seemed to incite many members of the White House press corps, who bombarded McClellan today with questions suggesting that the White House had been derelict in not getting the information out quickly Saturday evening.

McClellan referred numerous questions about the incident to Cheney’s press office. But one reporter, ABC News’ Jessica Yellin, complained that the vice president’s office was not providing the answers.

McClellan said that Card first informed Bush that there had been a shooting accident between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday.

At one point, McClellan seemed on the verge of losing his poise, as his voice began to rise amid the avalanche of questions being shouted at him. But he quickly regained his trademark composure.

“I think you can always look at — you can always look back at these issues and look at how to do a better job,” he acknowledged.

The story goes on to give the details of the incident, which are certainly worth reading — unless one is hoping to use the situation to demonize the vice-president.

Is this even news? Well, of course it is. The vice-president of the United States of America was involved in an incident resulting in a man being shot. How could that not be news? The Telegraph underlines this point by mentioning the following:

Historians speculated that this was the first time a vice-president had shot someone since Aaron Burr killed his rival, Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers, in a duel in 1804.

Is this well within the domain of late-night television satirists and humorists? Well, of course it is, and they have made use of it aplenty.

Now, I’ve stated what the story is. Here’s what I feel it isn’t: significant. There will be no long-term ramifications, except for a parade of disgusting sniping from the far left. This will provide no leverage for the anti-gun movement. Though I may agree with some of their arguments in some cases, any attempt to capitalize on this obvious accident will fail — they ain’t going to make a dent based on a birdhunt-shotgun peppering. This event may eventually become an answer to a Trivial Pursuit question.

Here’s what else should be taken from the story: the media really need to reign themselves in before (I know I’m almost certainly too late here) they turn themselves into a parody of actual journalism. I only caught a few minutes of the White House press conference before work called me away, but disgust had already settled in over the display. My advice for the traditional media is as follows:

• First, check your arrogance. That the story wasn’t immediately spoon-fed to you but instead given to the locals by the locals is not a sign of a cover-up.
• Second, piss-poor decorum in the White House on the trail of a relatively non-event will not win you points with the American public, a public that grows increasingly tired of such partisanship in our nation’s capital.
• Third, a sense of perspective would help. After a hunting accident, there is no need for accusatory questions about the vice-president’s seemingly hoped-for resignation, however much the so-called journalist may wish for the demise of Cheney. Follow the story, but don’t try to invent one.

And that is probably all I’m going to say on this matter, other than to wish the best for Mr. Whittington.