George Bridges (KRT )

Briefed - White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan faces tough questioning Feb. 14 at his daily press briefing for the second day in a row about a shooting accident by the Vice President.

   After Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot his hunting buddy, Harry Whittington, in the face last weekend, he waited nearly 24 hours before alerting the media of the incident.

   Since the media already hates the Bush Administration, I found it typical of them to lash out at Cheney with a galore of accusations and suspicions for the delay.

   Columnists and bloggers went wild with speculations as to why Cheney delayed the information. My personal favorite was the suggestion that he was waiting for all the alcohol to leave his body, preventing accurate testing. The only place I would expect to hear such garbage is on "The Daily Show," but ideas like that, unfortunately, seeped into the mainstream media. 

   Of course, if I were vice president and I accidentally shot a friend during a hunting expedition, the first thing I would do is reach for my cell phone to call CNN and let them know what happened, especially if the media hated me like they do Cheney. Wouldn't you?

   "Hey, CNN! This is the vice president, and I just shot my friend in the face!" 

   Besides, Cheney took full responsibility for the accident. He even gave an interview on Fox News:

   "Well, ultimately, I'm the guy who pulled the trigger that fired the round that hit Harry," Cheney told Brit Hume. "And you can talk about all of the other conditions that existed at the time, but that's the bottom line. And there's no - it was not Harry's fault. You can't blame anybody else. I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend. And I say that is something I'll never forget." 

   Though I must admit Cheney did give the media more ammunition by delaying the information flow – pardon the pun – I think the story has been blown way out of proportion. While it did become more serious when Whittington suffered a heart attack shortly after the accident, I still consider it no different than a fender bender.  

   If Whittington did indeed die as a result of the accident, then everything changes. At that point, I would understand plastering this story all over the front page of every newspaper in the country. The FBI would need to get involved and Cheney would be forced to retrace every single step he made in Texas that day. 

   As it stands, Whittington remains alive, and the story should be considered a minor incident. After all, several other stories might be slightly more important: the ongoing Danish cartoon controversy, the Australian media releasing more Abu Gharib photos and Al Gore bashing the United States on foreign soil.

   The three aforementioned news stories maintain the potential to affect the average person's everyday life more than a hunting accident ever could. The media's contempt for the Bush administration reared its head ugly head so high with this incident that it’s almost amusing.

   Oh, and just for the record, accidents do not have to be reported in Texas, only fatalities. So, basically, you can chop someone's arm off, and if they live, it's no big deal. God bless Texas.

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