Go ahead. Make my day.
Posted on 02/12/2006 12:46:46 PM PST by bayourant
Edited on 02/12/2006 2:10:43 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, his spokeswoman said Sunday.
Harry Whittington, 78, was "alert and doing fine" after Cheney sprayed him with shotgun pellets on Saturday while the two were hunting at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong.
Armstrong said Whittington was mostly injured on his right side, with the pellets hitting his cheek, neck and chest, and was taken to the hospital by ambulance.
Whittington was in stable condition Sunday, said Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System.
Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president was with Whittington, a lawyer from Austin, Texas, and his wife at the hospital on Sunday afternoon.
Armstrong said she was watching from a car while Cheney, Whittington and another hunter got out of the vehicle to shot at a covey of quail late afternoon on Saturday.
Whittington shot a bird and went to look for it in the tall grass, while Cheney and the third hunter walked to another spot and found a second covey.
Whittington "came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself," Armstrong told the Associated Press in an interview.
"The vice president didn't see him," she continued. "The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a bird and was following it and shot. And by god, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good."
The shooting was first reported by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
She said Whittington was bleeding but not very seriously injured, and Cheney was very apologetic.
"It broke the skin," she said. "It knocked him silly. But he was fine. He was talking. His eyes were open. It didn't get in his eyes or anything like that."
She said emergency personnel traveling with Cheney tended to Whittington, holding his face and cleaning up the blood.
"Fortunately, the vice president has got a lot of medical people around him and so they were right there and probably more cautious than we would have been," she said. "The vice president has got an ambulance on call, so the ambulance came."
Armstrong said Cheney is a longtime friend who comes to the ranch to hunt about once a year. She said Whittington is a regular, too, but she thought it was the first time the two men hunted together.
"This is something that happens from time to time. You now, I've been peppered pretty well myself," said Armstrong.
___
Associated Press writer Paul Weber in Dallas contributed to this report.
Nam Vet
I've nearly had a stroke before in the excitement of a covey of quail exploding from right beneath me.
Is is a good idea for Cheney to be doing this?
that was damn funny
here is one of what I am sure is 20 threads on the subject
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2103377&mesg_id=2103377
From the DUmmies... This is funny stuff
"tinfoilinfor2005
Response to Reply #7
83. By tomorrow this is how it will read:
Vice president Cheney saved the life of a fellow hunter Saturday in Texas. As the Vice President was taking a well deserved stroll after hours of intense discussions with foreign diplomats, Cheney noticed a deadly moccasin rattle snake approaching one the dignitaries, fangs bared, ready to strike. Cheney drew his gun and shot the reptile before he could kill the man, who happened to be a highly decorated war hero. Cheney's quick response saved the man's life, said his wife (and mother of his five children). The man was slightly injured by fragments of stone that struck his torso during the incident. The vice president will receive a medal of honor for his heroism and bravery. "
Series, it's one of my favorite cartoons.
I've always believed that Cheney would resign bfore his term is up. Only makes sense to get someone in there to get on the job training. Let people see a person in that role and they will be comfortable voting for them.
I also always thought that Gore would have won the Presidency in 2000 if CLinton would have stepped down and elevated Gore to President in 1999.
Outstanding!
My brother in law got shot like that a couple years ago. He still limps.
That is how it'd have been reported if a Dem had done the same thing maybe.
Oh yeah. Jon Stewart will have a field day with this. Hope he isn't snowed in tomorrow.
I was waiting for a Clymer reference. Thank you!
That could get messy....
agreed, no bad press but lots of jokes
I'm glad they are all in a hissy fit over this. Good to see their blood boiling.
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