Harry Whittington is a gentleman

[Boomer]

"We all assume certain risks in whatever we do," Whittington said. "Whatever activities we pursue and regardless of how experienced, careful and dedicated we are, accidents do and will happen."

A number of DUers have made snarky comments about Whittington's reaction, implying that he is some kind of masochist or a suckup toadie to the Bush Administration, that he has been paid off, yada yada yada. I'm not sure exactly what these people think the "appropriate" response to this accident would be, but presumably it involves some kind of raving denunciation of Cheney's stupidity and carelessness or the announcement of a lawsuit for pain and suffering.

That interpretation is an injustice to Whittington. By the standards of his generation and of his class, Whittington's comments about the Cheney shooting are gracious and considerate. A gentleman does not make a bad situation worse by flaunting his feelings -- whatever they may be in the privacy of his home -- in public. His statement may be considered quaint or even odd by today's standards, but I'm old enough to remember when this was exactly what was expected of a man in a difficult situation.

I think Whittington is to be commended for his civilized response, one that, if anything, is a pointed contrast to Cheney's churlish behavior and the obfuscations of the VPs minions.

Harry is a class act.

[PVK]

1. He was probably threatened or bought off. n/t

[SammyWinstonJack]

4. BIG TIME!

[titoresque]

2. I don't hang with MASS MURDERERS!

This guy is in deep! No one gets close to these thugs if they ain't
in bed with them!
Harry can eat shit!

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

7. Precisely!

He's intwined with them. They're like packs of rats. They travel in PACKS. They're one and the same. Him and Dick are blood brothers, to the end. Thick and thin, they stick together.

[stepnw1f]

8. thank you (nt)

[stepnw1f]

3. "act" - You Said It

He's hanging with the same guy that killed over 100,000 people in Iraq. For power and greed... what's that you say about the man? Class act? Ah... on the street, we call that an "act", or better known as a "front".

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

5. He Said Exactly What I Would Have Expected....

I'm not sure if giving a "canned" response makes him any more of a gentleman. I would have fallen out of my chair if he had said anything else from what he did.

He's a repub through and through. We'll never know his true feelings, because like ALL repubs, he'll keep them hidden inside while portraying this fake facade. Tow the line, that's what he'll do. Stick by his fellow repubs to the end. That's how these guys work.

Lawsuit? Condemming Dick? You've got to be kidding. If you think that was even a possibility, I've got a bridge to sell ya.

[karlrschneider]

6. He is one of them. No way would he be anything but deferential to

the chickenshit shooter.

[collegegirl211]

9. HE IS A CROOK

that guy is covering for dead eye dick and president fuckup i have no sympathy for right wing liars

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. Ayup.

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[Punkingal]

11. Well, I'm not sure if he and Cheney are good friends...

He mentioned his long friendship with the Armstrongs, but did he say anything about a long friendship with Cheney? I thought his behavior was much better than Cheney's, also.

[Boomer]

12. Whittington, according to Molly Ivins

No offense to the posters above (not much anyway), but I'm more inclined to trust Ivins' take on the man:

AUSTIN, Texas -- Of course the jokes are flying all over Texas -- what's the fine for shooting a lawyer? -- and so forth. Dick-Cheney-shooting-Harry-Whittington is fraught, as they say, with irony. It's not as though the ground in Texas is littered with liberal Republicans. I think the vice president winged the only one we've got.

Not that I accuse Harry Whittington of being an actual liberal -- only by Texas Republican standards, and that sets the bar about the height of a matchbook. Nevertheless, Whittington is seriously civilized, particularly on the issues of crime, punishment and prisons. He served on both the Texas Board of Corrections and on the bonding authority that builds prisons. As he has often said, prisons do not curb crime, they are hothouses for crime: "Prisons are to crime what greenhouses are to plants."

In the day, whenever there was an especially bad case of new-ignoramus-in-the-legislature -- a "lock 'em all up and throw away the key" type -- the senior members used to send the prison-happy, tuff-on-crime neophyte to see Harry Whittington, a Republican after all, for a little basic education on the cost of prisons.

When Whittington was the chairman of Texas Public Finance Authority, he had a devastating set of numbers on the demand for more, more, more prison beds. As Whittington was wont to point out, the only thing prisons are good for is segregating violent people from the rest of society, and most of them belong in psychiatric hospitals to begin with. The severity of sentences has no effect on crime.

(snip)

I am not trying to make a big deal out of a simple hunting accident for partisan purposes -- just thought it was a good chance to pay tribute to old Harry, a thoroughly decent man.

http://www.creators.com/opinion_show.cfm?columnsName=miv

[0rganism]

13. Harry Whittington is a bush "Pioneer" with excellent medical insurance

You're right, it's not just a suckup job, it's much more than that. He's trying to protect an investment.

This is not difficult to understand.

[collegegirl211]

15. exactly

that guy is a die hard bush supporter therefore he is enabling the destruction of this country i don't care how nice he might be in person who in the hell wants to go quail hunting with a potential war criminal

[Vinnie From Indy]

14. You had me at "of his class"

WTF does that mean? Is Mr Whittington's behavior expected to be better than anyone elses because of "his class"? Is it assumed that someone of Mr. Whittington's and Darth Cheney's class will respond differently about being shot in the face by a drunken companion than some auto workers?

I would venture a guess that Mr. Whittington's choice of friends indicates a cause for suspicion.

[Boomer]

20. What, you're surprised we're a class-ridden society?

I'm not Whittington's age, and I'm definitely not of his class, but I grew up in Texas and he's a fair representation of a man brought up in the culture that I observed there. And his statements are precisely what would be expected from a man with that background.

How different that reaction might be from auto workers, I can't gauge since I don't know any auto workers. But it's definitely a LOT different than many people on DU seem to expect because every possible spin from codependency to bribery has been put forward as a "rationale" for his comments. Everyting except for that's just "how it's done" where he grew up.

[Vinnie From Indy]

22. I am not surprised that America is a society with class distinctions, but

I am surprised that anyone would think that any class has any superior standing in regard to morals or ethics. Mr Whittington lays with dogs and I expect he has a few fleas as a result.

On edit: If Molly thinks the guy is OK, I will defer to her judgement as I have never even heard of the guy before he caught a load of birdshot in the face.

[collegegirl211]

23. hell fucking yeah

love that slogan

[Boomer]

25. I made no comment about morals or ethics

I was referring to manners, which is not the same thing. After all, the elder George Bush had impeccable manners and... well, that's another essay entirely.

Anyway, Whittington is acting in accordance with the accepted manners of his particular culture, a combination of his generation, region, ethnicity, status and income. My grandfather -- who came from an entirely different culture -- would probably have acted in exactly the same manner because this too was the expected behavior for his background.

My father, on the other hand, would probably not have acted in that way. Not because he was better or worse than Harry, but because the culture of his upbringing (about one-step up from what Texans refer to as "trailer trash") did not expect it of him, and he wasn't one for rising above expectations. Most of us don't, so I can't hold that against him.

Nonetheless, I can applaud Whittington's manners without admiring his choice in hunting companions or much of anything else about his life. Although from what I read in Ivin's essay, Whittington has accomplished more good for society as a Republican than I have as a Democrat.

[ThoughtCriminal]

16. Would I cover for friend in the same circumstances?

Not too sure even though none of them are greedy power hungry war-mongers. I think we would have a much more difficult time getting law enforcement and medical personel to buy into our cover story. But beleive it or not telling the truth is always the best thing to do, not just because it's moral, but in the long run lies are more trouble than they're worth.

I do agree that Whittington's behavior, makes Cheney look even worse.

[countingbluecars]

17. Birds of a feather flock together. n/t

[havocmom]

18. He's James Baker's brother-in-law. Family history of cleaning up messes

of the rich and political.

[Justice Is Comin]

19. He goes all the way back

to the dead body roulette with the Bush cartel. He can get screwed. And his wife is a bloodsucker republican lobbyist sucking more life out of the people struggling to feed their family.

[txindy]

21. Harry gave a verbal thumbs-up to the media coverage, too.

He liked the way they've been hammering at this story, apparently. Which means Harry went off the reservation.

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/02/17.html#a7199

Whittington backs up the media!

Harry Whittington made his first public statement today and praised the media for their coverage. He says the accident happened on Friday, but I'm not sure if he's accurate on that point or not.

Whittington: I compliment you on what you've done-I've read and seen many of your reports and I know your job isn't easy.

What an interesting sentiment on his part considering that statement definitely wasn't in the Karl Rove playbook. We all witnessed how the wingnuts went berserk this week over the way the press corp (and many of us) were questioning how the shooting was handled by Cheney and his entourage. Harry did get back on message shortly.

He looked pretty good all in all and that's really nice. He called himself a very lucky person which translates into: "I almost got blown away."

[meisje]

24. Republican Tool

[Stephanie]

26. absolutely right, Whittington is a gentleman

he's very gracious

[daleo]

27. A gentleman lets his friends shoot him in the face

Then he apologizes to the shooter, for causing him trouble.

But only if the shooter is above him in social rank.