Vice President Cheney and the Hunting "Accident"

The facts of the incident aside, the most alarming aspect of the whole thing is the fact that the most secretive Vice President ever is inclined to be secretive even when a shooting has occurred. I put "accident" in quotes in the title because I don't classify such events as an accident. Anytime a person is shot while hunting, it can almost always be traced back to a failure in judgment or lack of skill. The only exceptions are when something like 'tripping on a log" or the like occurs. I have always been adamant in my positions about safe hunting, including not pulling the trigger unless I am absolutely sure what I am shooting at, as well as what else might be in the line of fire. So if what happened when the Vice President was hunting quail with his friend isn't from tripping or the like, than it must be the result of poor judgment or a lack of skill and/or training. And the bad judgment continued, when it was decided to keep it all secret for awhile. Then all the speculations make a person think that maybe they are possible. Was he drunk? Were they waiting to see if the victim would make it? Now, it doesn't matter if they are true or not, because the V.P. waited so long.

Now, what do we think would happen if one of us did the same thing? If an average hunter waited so long to report an incident, a huge cloud of suspicion would hang over him. And, depending on the state, there could be legal ramifications. The very first thing everyone would think is "he must have been drunk." And to add insult to injury, he was not even carrying the proper bird tag. Those of us who like to hunt responsibly know the importance of the fees for the future of hunting. And most of us don't have as much money as the V.P. Our leaders should be the first to show everyone else how to play by the rules, not how to blatantly ignore them.