A recent story regarding the fallout from Cheney's hunting accident may help explain why it is that there was such a delay between the time of the accident and it being reported to the press. It appears that there may have have been legitimate confusion regarding what had actually happened:

[QUOTE]"At about 8 a.m. Sunday, a Cheney aide called strategist Mary Matalin, who regularly advises the Vice President. The aide read her a statement about the accident that Cheney had considered releasing before he decided to encourage Armstrong to go to the (Corpus Christi) Caller-Times.

"But the statement 'didn't say much of anything,' Matalin says?not even that Cheney was the shooter. Matalin then spoke with a second aide and with Cheney's family and heard different versions of what had happened in the shooting. She decided no statement should be released amid the confusion. Matalin spoke with Cheney, and, she says, they agreed that 'a fuller accounting, with an eyewitness,' would be preferable."[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002035216[/url] (quoting Time)

On the other hand, does this suggest that Cheney was considering issuing a statement that didn't disclose that he was the shooter? Boy, considering how much heat he's taken for not coming out with the story right away, he would have really gotten worked over if the initial story was released, and then people later found out the truth. According to this same story, Cheney's current approval rating stands at only 29%...

Re: Good News and Bad News, for Cheney

alcohol ?

Re: Good News and Bad News, for Cheney

^^ didn't say anything new one way or the other.

Personally, I'd be surprised if Cheney hadn't had a few at the time of the incident, simply because:

1. Most of the hunters I know like to have some beers while they're hunting, and
2. I just don't buy Cheney's story that he had "one beer at lunch." How many people do you know that truly, honestly, have one beer and call it quits? Not many, IMO. Add to this that he was on a vacation of sorts, and I think the "one beer" thing seems even more suspect.

I have nothing but speculation to back this up, though, and that will probably never change because Cheney was sequestered after the incident. I just don't believe him, anymore than I would believe any hunter involved in an accident like this who claimed to have had "just one beer." The fact that its Cheney would make it a national story, but it wouldn't make it more shocking or anything. Many hunters drink, and accidents like this happen from time to time. Unfortunate, but that's the way it is...

Re: Good News and Bad News, for Cheney

not to mention 1 beer at lunch on a saturday (wasn't it ?) AND he is out on a hunting trip which meant no further business / official meetings / obligations for him to fulfill for the rest of the day / weekend......

tipsy alert imo

Re: Good News and Bad News, for Cheney

That story about trying to get out an initial statement to control the political damage may be true. However, it also could've been a time excuse for Cheney to sober up before he faced authorities.

I agree that he most likely had more than 1 beer, but I'm going to guess only a few. More importantly, did the beer or beers effect his judgment? Like said, I'll guess we'll never know, but one thing that bothers me is this. How many of us could shoot a friend and then tell the authorities we'll talk about this tomorrow?

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I would actually like to rephrase that question as "how many of us could shoot a friend and not talk to ANYONE"?

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as a general rule of thumb: i do not consume more than a 6 pack when hunting. [U]safety first.[/U] after 6, i feel i can no longer decipher a bird from a deer, and that's when hunting gets tricky.

Re: Good News and Bad News, for Cheney

:| :|

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1. good news- he is rich.

2. he is a dick and 48% of the country hates him.

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can we just stop talking about this? he wasn't drunk, he had an accident. this entire issue is constructed upon pure media specualtion bullshit.

look, i'm as fed up with the administration as anyone else and i'm no fan of cheney, but bury the fuckin hatchet. forget it. this mindless conspiracy crap just makes progress that much harder.

we could go on and on about why they didn't alert the media immediately, if he was drunk, etc. STOP.

you should be ashamed of yourself if you try to use this incident as political ammunition against the Bush government. as much as they screw things up, using this is beyond contemptable. it has absolutely no bearing on the quality of the leadership, no bearing on cheney as an individual.

if you want to attack cheney, do so against his policy, his character, his dealings with contributors, his motives. because it just as well could have been any one of us who pulled that trigger.

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Ok, we bury the hatchet, then what ? There's still 45+% of the nation that favors the president and this administration. In fact, I'd say the 2 most glaring reasons we SHOULD go on about it is

A) To remind ourselves of how wrong people in power of the greatest nation on this planet can be at times...... (i.e. planning wars even before they came into power, the president being on extended holiday when Katrina hit and it took him 4 days to reach New Orleans, Cheney shoots his friend and takes 18 hours to report it, and pretty much every other thing that Farenheit 9/11 showed)

B) More importantly, in the hopes that the 45+% of the populous that still favors the administration, eventually sees the day of light.

Whether we sit still OR we go on with this, it makes no difference. But repeating it serves as a reminder to those who vote how wrong things can get. Dont get me wrong, I have nothing against Cheney shooting his friend, but it just kills me inside to think they've sent some 150,000+ soldiers to die in Iraq when the evening news continues to show amputated retired soldiers who are also losing benefits because of flaws in the system and the VP did have the time to...... have a beer on Saturday afternoon and shoot his friend in the face that evening.

Now you tell me, is it worth burying the hatchet ?

I'm not a political person, in fact you'll see how many posts I have in this forum, I hate politics, but my sense of what's right and wrong hasn't withered away either.

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[quote=Kamal] I'm not a political person, in fact you'll see how many posts I have in this forum, I hate politics, but my sense of what's right and wrong hasn't withered away either.[/quote]

which is why i have disliked the government for the last 15 years. its just so wrong. we have literally fought each other over a guy who was charismatic and lied to our faces on so many occasions and a moron who has his friends manipulate him into a war.

clinton/gore= clinton was the lair, gore the moron bush/cheney= vice versa.

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I was sort of with you right up until this...

[quote=Kamal] and pretty much every other thing that Farenheit 9/11 showed)[/quote]

:roll:

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I agree the media overblows things and that flick adds to it.... but tell me Jenks.... even if there was 1 amputated soldier to be in the situation I described above in spite of all the media hype and all that Michael Moore portrayed ..... would you still agree with Cheneys quail hunting snafu ?

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There are bigger fish to fry. All the problems in government, and the we've got the media, the left and right arguing about timing in reporting a hunting ACCIDENT. Lame. This has caused more stir than Cheney/Haliburton.

It just goes to show you how fucked up we are in this country.

I did get a really cool fortune in my cookie from chinese take out the other day...

"Discontent is the first step to the progress of a person and nation."

I'm definitely discontent with the state of the country, and it seems like a majority are as well. This is a very good thing.

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you're getting me wrong, this has nothing to do with the timing of reporting an accident about anything or even the media at all.... but is it fair to be "taking your responsibility as VP" in such a way when so much more is going on ?

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I'm pretty much in agreement that this hunting accident thing isn't really worth beating into the ground. Even if he was drinking, that means that a drunk hunter errantly shot his buddy in the face, which wouldn't really be big news -- he just happens to be the vice president of the United States.

With that said, though, I do agree with Kamal that public discourse regarding the unfortunate mixture of reckless bravado and utter incompetence of this administration is a good thing, regardless of why. The hunting thing doesn't really get me that fired up, but if it results in more people seeing the Pres and his cronies for the arrogant boobs that they are, then I'm all for it. People [B]should[/B] be more pissed off about Halliburton, Katrina, and the host of other truly egregious things that have happened in the last few years, but if the masses decide that this is the issue that gets them engaged in the process, que sera sera, as far as I'm concerned...

[QUOTE=Kamal]it just kills me inside to think they've sent some 150,000+ soldiers to die in Iraq when the evening news continues to show amputated retired soldiers who are also losing benefits because of flaws in the system[/QUOTE]

This is really one of my hot buttons. Bush -- and most of the country, for that matter -- goes on and on about how important it is to support the troops, but when they serve bravely and come back home injured, the health care system set up for veterans fails them. Supporting the troops includes making sure that their sacrifices are not ignored. If a solidier returns from Iraq or Afghanistan or wherever with a combat related injury, he or she shouldn't have to worry about how they're going to pay for treatment for that injury for the rest of their lives, IMO.

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Yes. The biggest argument here that i'm all for supporting is: With all the bullshit going on here and abroad, Cheney found time to go hunting with his buddies. Couldn't fine anything more constructive to do Dick?

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[quote=Jenks]

I'm definitely discontent with the state of the country, and it seems like a majority are as well. This is a very good thing.[/quote]

here here. sad thing is, the future looks even worse. because after all the shit of the last 2 administrations, they have completely polarized each other, so now next term when we vote a democrat in and he/she turns out to be a way left liberal and the country splits even more, we will have even more infighting and less progress.

would be nice to have them all put their petty differences aside, stop badmouthing each other in PR stunts and just work together. let the war wrap up, hand it to the UN monitors, and take care of the people who need. the economy is doing great again, its on the up and up and way more stable and concrete, the security needs more, and foreign relations need improvement. just work on it.

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[quote=Jenks]Yes. The biggest argument here that i'm all for supporting is: With all the bullshit going on here and abroad, Cheney found time to go hunting with his buddies. Couldn't fine anything more constructive to do Dick?[/quote]

then we're in agreement then ;)

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Beverly Sutphin: Mrs. Hinckle, do you drink?

Dotty Hinkle: No I do not.

BS: You mean to tell me that the day I came over to Mrs. Ackermans you were not drinking?

DH: One beer with lunch is hardly drinking.

BS: So you admit that you do drink.

DH: Socially, I'll have a beer with friends.

BS: So you admit that you just lied.

DH: No I don't you BITCH!

( from the courtroom scene in Serial Mom, just seemed too damn fitting )

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what a great movie.

then she kills the bitch for wearing white shoes.

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She kills patty hearst, a juror who found her innocent of murder.... for wearing white shoes after labor day..

It's wonderful...

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with a phone earpiece right? i forget

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yup, with the payphone that she was using to tell her family "we did it, we set her free! I knew she was innocent from the start"

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the cathleen turner grin was so good before her face fell off and she began looking like keith richards.

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if this is what it takes to get people politically motivated, a sensationalist media frenzy over an accident, then god help us. there is just no substance to this worth fighting over. please, stop giving credence to this issue by thinking about it. you are not helping anything or anybody.