Tale Of Two Vice Presidents

I'll be honest. I don't understand the "outrage" over Dick Cheney waiting 18 hours to alert the Washington press corp about his hunting accident. To begin with, he's the vice president. While Cheney has been more influential than most, it's still not a job with major policy implications. I understand it's a story because (to the best of my knowledge) it's the first time a sitting Vice President has shot anyone since Aaron Burr. However, I don't understand why it's imperative that he immediately call the media after a hunting accident. Hunting accidents are bad, but they happen. Would it have the same impact if he had hit him with a car? Probably not. As a Boy Scout and member of an ROTC air rifle team, I understand the importance of gun safety, and that is what this story comes down to. Unless you are an idiot in North Carolina (talk about low standards to be a staff writer) or a Democrat anywhere, this issue boils down to, at worst, the Vice President not practicing proper hunting etiquette. It certainly is very important to Cheney and Harry Whittington (the guy he wounded). However, it has no policy implications. It is totally removed from any governing connection. So, while the Vice President shooting someone is a story, it's shouldn't be the only thing being reported. I believe Cheney is right. The national press is pissed because the scoop went to a newspaper in Corpus Christi instead of the NY Times or Washington Post.

Yet, this short term story is huge, while the one about former VP Al Gore is ignored. If you think about it, Aaron Burr wasn't just the last VP who shot someone in while in office. He was also the last former VP who was tried for treason. No, I'm not advocating Gore be charged with treason. For one, Saudi Arabia is a somewhat ally so treason doesn't really apply. Yes, I realize that their citizenry seems to be pretty anti-American/pro al-Qaeda, but I think the fall of the House of Saud would make Saudi Arabia even more anti-American. That wouldn't be good. Two, I'm a big believer in free speech. However, I think what Gore did was certainly disloyal. He was also stupid. Much like my previous post about offended Muslims, I have to laugh about anyone who would complain to a Middle East audience about the "mistreatment" of anyone. I don't even have to go into why Gore is a liar for saying the U.S. "indiscriminately" rounded up Muslims for visa violations (if we had done this in August 2001, maybe we would have stopped a fairly large terrorist attack). The simple fact is that until we start cutting off hands for petty theft, the U.S. has a long way to go to match the mistreatment Arabs suffer under the Saudi government (or most other Middle East governments). Actually, try worshipping as a Christian there. For a former VP to attack the U.S. while in a foreign country that shreds Bibles is absurd. I'm not going to say that the U.S. is perfect. It's not. We have faults. However, there is a reason immigrant boats seem to go one way (to the U.S. for the morons at home). Contrary to the opinion of the American Left (as represented by Al Gore), Muslims/Arabs have more rights in the United States than Muslims/Arabs in Muslim/Arab countries. Bad mouthing America to a Saudi audience isn't treason, but it is crass. And I think it's certainly more of a PR hit for the U.S. than a hunting accident. For any Democrats in the audience, Al gore is your boy. Aren't you proud?