Cheney's Victim

Contrary to earlier reports, Vice President Dick Cheney's shooting victim apparently suffered much more serious wounds than previously indicated.

What FoxNews determined consituted a "spraying" rather than a shooting, appears to have resulted in a "BB" (FoxNews's term) from Mr. Cheney's shotgun becoming lodged deep in the chest of Mr. Whittington, causing atrial fibrillation, which resulted in Mr. Whittington having a minor heart attack and a subsequent transfer to Intensive Care.

On Sunday, Cheney's office reported that Cheney was "pleased Mr Whittington is in good shape and good spirits." Other reports described that the shots "broke the skin," and "knocked him silly. But he was fine." And of course, these reports were delayed for nearly a full day. While there is no indication at the time that any of this information was known to be false at the time the statements were made, certainly these statements understate the potential seriousness of the situation - the "BB's" did in fact break the skin as well as the body well, entering the chest cavity.

FoxNews also reported that "Cheney was legally hunting with a license he purchased in November, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman Steve Lightfoot said. The vice president flew back to Washington on Sunday evening, according to his office." -- Apparently that was not entirely true, either.

I certainly do not believe that there are any sinister circumstances involved regarding the event, but the handling of the situation after it occurred has been inadequate, it lacks forthrightness and openness. It was obviously a very unfortunate accident, what was the need for concealment?

My question is - say the poor guy dies because of the damage to his heart, that would certainly constitute involuntary manslaughter.

Was the White House delay merely to assess the degree of spin necessary for this new mistake? I think the seriousness of this event and the clear pattern of disclosure (or non-disclosure) by the White House demonstrates a how they really operate and why trusting them has become difficult - even for people like me who once their supporter.