Harry Whittington

Feb 14, 2006 15:30

Harry Whittington, the hunter shot by our Vice President over the weekend, has had a minor, asymptomatic heart attack. Mr. Whittington should be ok, but will need to remain in the hospital for a week or so.

It’s fairly obvious by now that despite the White House’s attempted spin on this, both men were to blame for the accident. Both are ( Read more... )

ethics, news, cheney

Leave a comment

windswept February 14 2006, 20:59:00 UTC
I don't see how it's Cheney's fault at all. There is a standard hunting protocol, and Whittington broke it. I don't understand what all the hullaballoo is about - this is a non-event. There are a lot of reasons to hate the guy, but this lies solely on Whittington.

Reply

stilldocked February 14 2006, 21:29:36 UTC
I think the issue now is less the shooting, and more the fact that the White House is trying to make this a non-issue. Yes, there was what seems to be an accident. However, when a hunter is shot in my neck of the woods, it gets a mention on the evening news, because I live in an area that doesn't have much breaking news (Upstate New York). When the Vice President of the United States is involved in a hunting accident, it is news worthy, and it should have been addressed immediately. The failure to do so promotes the idea that the Vice President and, by extension, the Bush White House, are incredibly secretive and were "trying to get away with something" which is what David Gergen was trying to bring up in yesterday's briefing.

There are a lot of reasons to hate the guy, but this lies solely on Whittington.

I disagree. I have hunted before, and one of the first rules I was taught was, "Know what you are shooting at." Apparently, the Vice President was taught a different rule than I.

Reply

windswept February 15 2006, 02:10:31 UTC
I don't know if you've been quail hunting, but it involves following a flight path which causes you to rotate, unlike, say, deer hunting. That's why it's incumbent upon other members of the hunting party to a) stay out of that arc, and 2) notify the shooter when they're out of position, which is what didn't happen in this instance. Whittington moved up into Cheney's "airspace" without saying anything, and Cheney rotated and fired and Whittington was standing in the pre-agreed line of fire.

Reply

zarq February 15 2006, 04:02:34 UTC
I've been hunting, and I've even been pheasant and quail hunting. It is also incumbent upon any experienced hunter to make sure no one is in your line of fire (including your possible arc,) and that you know at all times where all the members of your hunting party are. I'm no expert and I haven't been hunting in more than 14 years yet I still remember those rules -- they were drilled into me as a part of Hunting 101.

This was an accident, yes, but Cheney obviously missed one or both of those steps. Even if Whittington didn't appear in his arc until he was turning and firing, Cheney should have known his location before the birds were flushed. If there was any question, he should have checked.

Both men have been hunting for decades and yes, accidents happen. But I do believe this could have been avoided with a little more caution on both their parts.

Reply

zarq February 15 2006, 04:37:13 UTC
. The failure to do so promotes the idea that the Vice President and, by extension, the Bush White House, are incredibly secretive and were "trying to get away with something" which is what David Gergen was trying to bring up in yesterday's briefing.

Yes, but I tend not to think it was anything nefarious in this case. It would have been nice if the White House Press Corps had shown a tenth of this outrage during the Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib or wire tapping scandals, though.

Reply


Leave a comment

Up