Being VP Means Waiting To Say You’re Sorry

If — God forbid — you witnessed an accidental shooting, one would think your first call would be for medical help. Vice President Dick Cheney didn’t have to make that call when he accidentally shot a millionaire pal while quail hunting last Saturday. He has emergency personnel traveling with him and an ambulance on call.

If — God forbid — you were involved in the shooting, one would think your second call would be to law enforcement. Cheney didn’t have to make that call, either. An hour and 20 minutes after the shooting on a south Texas ranch, the Secret Service office in McAllen, Texas, made a call to the local sheriff to report that Cheney had shot lawyer Harry Whittington.

If — God forbid — you were the one who pulled the trigger, one would think law enforcement would be camped on your doorstep. Instead, Cheney had a sit-down with deputies the next day — 14{ hours after Whittington stepped into Cheney’s line of fire, 13{ hours after Whittington had been admitted to the hospital, 13 hours after cops knew about it.

In fact, Cheney didn’t do anything after pulling the trigger and sending anywhere from six to 200 pieces of birdshot into his friend’s face, neck and chest — except have dinner and go to bed.

And therein lies the problem. Had police been contacted immediately and responded to the scene, there would be no question of whether the man who is a heartbeat away from the presidency had too much beer at lunch, whether he received preferential treatment, whether he’s answerable to the law, whether he has anything to hide. It would simply have been what we’re being told it was — a tragic mistake with tragic consequences.

Cheney went on national television 96 hours after the shooting, took responsibility for it, and said “it was, I’d have to say, one of the worst days of my life, at that moment.”

But the moments following the shooting weren’t gems, either. The vice president and the administration squandered them, managing to turn a hunting accident into Quailgate.

If the measure of someone is how they perform in a crisis — and that person holds the second-highest office in the nation — they shouldn’t need more than an hour to report a shooting. Or 14 hours to compose themselves enough to meet with officers.