Happiness Is a Warm Gun

The hunting accident involving Vice President Cheney over the weekend took an ominous turn this morning - news reports indicate that some of the bird shot that hit his hunting partner Harry Whittington, had migrated near his heart. We can hope that the elderly Whittington will survive this setback. A few thoughts:

• An accident is an accident. If Cheney comes off a bit like Elmer Fudd after this incident, that's not surprising, although this might be the best-case scenario.
• Not reporting the incident immediately was a poor decision. Did the news media have an absolute right to know immediately about the incident? Not necessarily, but full disclosure is always a better idea. At least Cheney & co. got Mr. Whittington immediate medical attention, unlike a certain senator I could name who let the person affected by his accident drown....
• Not surprisingly, the late night comics had a field day with Cheney. My only quibble with that is, why did David Letterman feel compelled to bring up Cheney's "lesbian daughter" twice during the show, once in a tasteless bit by announcer Alan Kalter and then in the Top Ten list? She's not relevant to the discussion, any more than Chelsea Clinton would have been to a discussion of Bill Clinton's foibles. Leave the families out of it.
• Many of the people who are responsible for disseminating news in this country know little or nothing about hunting. I heard reports of Mr. Whittington being hit with "buckshot," among other things. No one hunts quail with buckshot; it would essentially vaporize the birds. If Mr. Whittington had been hit at that range by buckshot, he'd have been dead at the scene.

A prayer for Mr. Whittington for a speedy recovery.