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February 16, 2006
Cheney's Got A Gun...
Sing it with me, everybody... I wish I could take credit for the Aerosmith parody, but it's all over the place out there. Still, it's damn fun to sing, ain't it?
Scooter Libby's boss, Shooter Cheney, went on Fox News tonight to "explain" his incident (read: spin it his way in a forum in which he knew he wouldn't get pressed or asked any tough questions by any of Faux News's "journalists"). That's a little like asking Cheech and Chong to explain a marijuana arrest to High Times. What we saw out of Brit Hume and Faux tonight was little more than a softball tournament -- just another embarrassing display of partisanship from the most falsely advertised product in America today (were truth in advertising laws enforced, Fox would have to acknowledge in its marketing that it is really just the publicity arm for the Republican Party).
As my friend the Doc pointed out, any good PR person would have had Shooter with NBC's David Gregory, who'd had a testy exchange with Scott McClellan over the issue, or perhaps on CNN... just as if we'd have had a Democratic Vice President who shot somebody go on Fox News. In this case, you go out there to the most skeptical audience, face the toughest questions head on, and mute the issue... and if the hostile press pushes too hard, you become a symapthetic figure badgered by a stubborn and angry reporter. Going to a blatantly sympathetic ear, in an environment you know to be friendly and where you won't get pushed, just contributes to the impression that you have something to hide and are still trying to manage the fallout rather than be honest about the incident... and lord knows Cheney has a credibility problem when it comes to being honest with the American people.
Beyond the predictable softballs and controlled-setting questions from Hume, Shooter's responses were also pathetically predictable. First came the insincere acceptance of responsibility... which was unavoidable, since Cheney had the gun, he had no way to blame liberals for the actual shooting itself. But then, like every other conservative who gets in trouble, Shooter quickly tried to deflect attention from his own conduct by -- you guessed it, say it with me kids... blaming the media. Yes, kids, this whole firestorm over Cheney's attempts to cover up the incident and hide it from the American people is the "liberal media's" fault, if you listen to Shooter.
I had a bit of the feeling that the press corps was upset because, to some extent, it was about them -- they didn’t like the idea that we called the Corpus Christi Caller-Times instead of The New York Times.
What a pathetic, vapid, and totally predictable response. It's laughably sad that conservatives have so little to offer and so much to mask that their first course of action in any circumstance is always to blame the media -- in a sad attempt to discredit the messengers who will report their activities to the people. It's tired, it's old, it's almost wholly invalid, and people just aren't stupid enough to fall for it anymore. There's a reason your poll numbers are in the low 40s, Chuckles. People don't buy slop like this anymore.
Hunting accidents happen. But, as Tim and I discussed on IM today, if it had been you or I and not Shooter who were involved in this case, the authorities would not have allowed us to get away with not talking about it for five days or trying to cover up or manage the story. This whole story is just another case of Shooter and the Bush Administration believing themselves above the law and accountable to no one for anything they do.
Marlin Fitzwater, a former Republican White House spokesman, told Editor & Publisher magazine that Cheney "ignored his responsibility to the American people."
Marlin, he's been doing that for at least the last five years. What surprises you about it now?
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Comments
I still prefer Gozer to 'Shooter'.
Shooter was an endearing character in 'Hoosiers'.......why blaspheme that poor character when Gozer will do?
Posted by: Marquette Hoops at February 16, 2006 10:19 AM
The Corpus Christy.. .. wha?
I do sort of feel bad for the ole guy though. I mean, Bush has to be slappin' his bald head all over the oval office and screaming about stupid gun control laws and how now, every time Bush wants to loosen them so we can have a good ole fashioned shoot 'em up, the tighter law types are going to bring a presentation full of "Cheney is a gun totin crazy pants" photos. Or shots.
I'm surprised Evil Cheney didn't have a heart attack when he shot his buddy.
Posted by: thebeav at February 16, 2006 10:25 AM
thebeav said: I'm surprised Evil Cheney didn't have a heart attack when he shot his buddy.
Can cyborgs have heart attacks?
Posted by: Mike at February 16, 2006 02:14 PM
