Former Bush counselor Dan Bartlett describes Cheney's "hunting accident"

[sabra]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/09/AR2007100901914_2.html

<snip>

Then there was the time Cheney shot his pal during a hunting accident in Texas. "We couldn't get hold of him for quite a bit of time," Bartlett said. "They were strategizing on their own, which as always got me worried. I called down there, and I finally get ahold of some of the people traveling with him and they kind of laid out their strategy.

" 'We're not going to talk about this. We're going to give it to the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in the morning,' " Bartlett said. He was stunned. This little paper couldn't even find the reporter because it was the weekend.

"So finally, I said, 'I have to talk with the vice president directly. I have to intervene in this.' I get him on the phone. 'Mr. Vice President, I know you don't have any traveling press with you, but we need to pull together a pool, either get them down there, get you on the phone with them. We need to work this out.'

"Dead silence." Then: " 'This is how we're going to handle it.'

"'Okaaay, Mr. Vice President.' Hang up the phone and the rest is history," Bartlett recalled.

[havocmom]

1. James Baker's brother in law gets shot and it just gets handled

My my, politics makes for interesting committee work.

[madokie]

11. is that true

that harry whittington is jim baker's brother in law

[havocmom]

18. Yep

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Whittington

http://www.nndb.com/people/358/000113019/

http://www.google.com/search?q=Mercedes+Baker+Whittington&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Interesting DU thread from the archives

[havocmom]

20. Texas Funeral-Gate connection, lest we forget

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=447676&mesg_id=447676

[aquart]

2. Whatever happened to that lawyer he shot?

[gratuitous]

6. The man and his family apologized to Dick Cheney

So everything worked out well.

[Mandate My Ass]

3. It takes a while to sober up

Team Dick was "strategizing" right after shooting a friend in the face. Never even went to the hospital. Says a lot. :puke:

[MADem]

7. That's exactly it, IMO. And I'll bet we aren't wrong on that, either. NT

[Beetwasher]

15. I Also Don't Think It Was An Accident

Cheney was liquored up and got pissed at Whittington for some reason and shot him. That's my theory.

[librechik]

4. so another of Bushies Buddies refused to do the right thing

If only he had called the cops right then.

Oh yeah, the cops were "turned away at the door.' Jeezuss, what is wrong with these people!!!??!

[gratuitous]

5. What a bulldog Dan Bartlett is . . .

He knows Cheney shot a man in the face, doesn't know the extent of the man's injuries, and yet he defers to the judgment of the guy who pulled the trigger. Okaaaaay, Mr. Bartlett.

[Botany]

8. 3 things

1) It was about giving him time to get the alcohol out of his system.

2) It was about the construction of a cover story they could spin, "This
accident got bad press because we gave the story to the little local paper."

3) "They" had to tie up loose ends such as getting their stories together,
picking the right local law enforcement to "handle things," and Cheney's
"date" aka The Swiss Miss had to be gotten out of the country.

[WolverineDG]

12. They made one slip up

Armstrong's pet reporter (ie, the one who would spin things the "correct" way) was unavailable, so the only available reporter (who did entertainment or something like that; I recall you had a crush on her & I offered to give directions to the Caller-Times office since I know where it is) actually did her job & started asking questions. Had the pet reporter been available, the incident would only have shown up in the society column as a "small accident" that occurred on the Armstrong Ranch whilst Crashcart was there but he was not involved in any way.

dg

[Botany]

21. The whole thing stunk

As a hunter (not too much anymore)

you never turn and shoot behind yourself ..... ever.

if the person was 90 ft. away and the bird was @ only 1 degree
of elevation the shot would have traveled over the victim's head
by many feet

at 90 feet # 8 shot will not go through a vest, a coat, a shirt,
skin, muscle, chest wall, and lodge into the heart.

if Cheney had not been traveling w/ his med staff Mr. W would
have died from shock.

any shooting accident while hunting will get the local police /
sheriff, state game dept, and maybe the state patrol with in hours.

But Cheney just walked away from it scott free. :rofl:

[WolverineDG]

24. You never shoot when

1 member of your party is unaccounted for. Cheney was on the dirt road, Whittington in the ditch beside the road looking for his kill (that had been flushed to the road for him by ranch hands--some hunting that is. not). That's how he got shot in the face.

dg

[Seedersandleechers]

22. So the swiss miss

left the country immediately after the shooting? I did not know that...

[Botany]

23. She was an eyewitness and she left that night.

Matter of fact she was on a plane with in hours.

She either wrote down some answers to some questions
or called the local law a few days later.

it was over Easter or a Valentine's day and Dick was not w/
his wife but another women?

[Contrary1]

9. I've always wondered if the good buddy said something

that pissed the big Dick off, causing the gun to "accidentally" discharge in the recipient's general direction.

It would explain the victim's apology. "I'm so sorry. I said something that irritated you so much, that I ended up with a face full of buckshot. Please forgive me."

I think this scenario is just as likely as the crocked Cheney theory.

[Atman]

13. Another 'toon.

Mine...



.

[Beetwasher]

16. I Think Cheney Was Drunk AND Shot Whittington On Purpose

They're not mutually exclusive. Cheney was crocked and got pissed at Whittington for some reason and shot him.

[Bake]

17. I think Dick was drunk and reckless

But I don't think he did it on purpose. Drunk and reckless is bad enough.

Bake

[SergeyDovlatov]

19. nope. Whittington said that attacking Iran is a bad idea and got what he deserved!

:rofl:

[Solly Mack]

10. lolol

Bartlett is a player through and through

[underpants]

14. Barlett