More trouble for Cheney? — Page 8

iflit - I wasn't referring to the scenario on the board at all, but rather the one unfolding in the public eye. And I believe there are vultures over every part of the playing field, as far as I can tell.

you were warned, dg.

dottie, this situation actually favors the administration. dick cheney's already seen as the devil himself, nothing's going to change that. everybody's going hog wild on this story so no one's talking about anything else. this event will not bring down the administration (please, a hunting accident?), nor will it do anything much in the end except maybe allow them to swap out cheney for a live vp. it does allow for some great jokes at the vp's expense and it gives those who hate the administration already more fodder for conspiracy theories and to show ignorance of hunting (something that a lot of folks in the country do), call for bans on hunting (always good for those dems who are trying to pick up swing voters) and revive calls for gun control (another big swing voter issue).

it was a hunting accident. they happen. if you think the administration isn't content to let this play across the front pages for as long as it can, you're deluded.

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papa, I agree that this is a hunting accident which do happen regularly. However, if he was drinking, that is another issue.

I find Cheney's silence insulting to the American public. He is the freaking VP and he shot someone! Tell the people the elected him what happened!!!!

until i see evidence that he was drunk, it's just speculation. i know around here it's already decide that he was. but then i happen to disagree with a lot of the cw around here.

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Cheney will give an interview at 2 PM...to Fox News.

Well, THAT ought to clear up EVERYTHING!

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Robbie - that really IS very funny

Here's something almost funnier from Fox News:

CAVUTO: This is a Fox News alert. The lawyer accidentally hit by Vice President Dick Cheney suffering a mild heart attack this morning. Doctors say he’s doing just fine and could be released in a week. Meanwhile, the White House press corps again beating a dead horse as it tries to find out why they were not told right away about the Vice President’s hunting accident.

Not one person bothering to ask, in the meantime, how Dick Cheney’s feeling about all this. After all, he’s a human being and injuring someone else in an accident can take a huge toll.

With us now someone who knows the Vice President pretty well. Ron Christie is a former Cheney advisor and author of Black in the White House. Good to have you back my friend.

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Okay, remember those initial reports about the hunting trip including an unidentified woman? This rumor from Sirius Radio and the HuffingtonPost:

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Sirius radio's Alex Bennett just broke a rumor that the delay in reporting the news that Cheney shot an old man in the heart was due to an effort to hide or spin Cheney's female companion.

Pamela Willeford, ambassador to Switzerland and -- yes -- Liechtenstein, was part of the hunting excursion with Cheney and Whittington. And according to Willeford's account, Cheney and the ambassador were side-by-side when the shooting of Whittington took place.



The vice president's Secret Service detail had to decide what to do with Willeford by way of perhaps covering up her relationship with Cheney, and thus the delay in reporting the news.

The rumor goes that Lynn Cheney isn't happy with Cheney's close relationship with Willeford.

Again, just a rumor.

UPDATE: For more details and analysis, read RJ Eskow's latest article at the link

Cheney's Chappaquiddick II: The Real Story Emerges

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Updated On: 2/15/06 at 01:47 PM

The lede from the above-linked story:

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The real story is already emerging, if you're willing to do a little digging. Cheney and Whittington went hunting with two women (not their wives), there was some drinking, and Whittington wound up shot. Armstrong didn't see the incident but claimed she had, Cheney refused to be questioned by the Sheriff until the next morning, and a born-again evangelical physician has been downplaying Whittington's injuries since they occurrred.
Neither the press nor law enforcement seems inclined to investigate.

Before the right-wing commenters howl - there's documentation for all of these statements. ...

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and wasn't he in the ICU?

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Cheney finally has something to say. And to whom is he going to say it? Why, in an EXCLUSIVE interview with FOX, scheduled to occur shortly. Someone explain to me again how this isn't being handled in a really shady manner.

This isn't Liza choosing to tell Barbara about her disasterous marriage. This is the freakin' Vice President of the United States, who in the typical M.O. of the Bush administration that we have all come to know, if not to love, thumbing their noses the rules which would apply to everyone else.

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From a friend in DC:

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Was Dick Cheney drunk? It’s a reasonable question to ask two days after he accidentally shot a companion while quail hunting. The press and the police were kept in the dark for almost 24 hours after the shooting. Why? Was it just typical, Cheney-esque, knee-jerk secrecy or did the VP need time to sober up? A breathalyzer test is mandatory in most states following an accidental shooting, but it would be rendered meaningless if it were administered so long after the incident. Similarly, it’s not uncommon for a hit-and-run driver to turn himself/herself in to the police 24 hours after the incident to avoid additional alcohol related charges. Cheney has two DUIs on his record and still has the reputation around DC as a heavy drinker.

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