Typical White House behavior: if you’re caught with the smoking gun, blame the other guy:
WASHINGTON – The White House blamed the 78-year-old man whom Vice President Dick Cheney shot during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas for the incident, as officials struggled Monday to explain why they waited nearly 24 hours before making the news public.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan tried to absolve Cheney of blame for shooting wealthy Austin lawyer Harry Whittington, saying that hunting “protocol was not followed by Mr. Whittington when it came to notifying others that he was there. And so, you know, unfortunately, these types of hunting accidents happen from time to time.”
Several hunting experts were skeptical of McClellan’s explanation. They said Cheney might have violated a cardinal rule of hunting: Know your surroundings before you pull the trigger.
Unfortunately for the White House, the guy’s not dead yet and may actually recover. You’d think they’d wait until the body was cold at least before the put blame on someone who can’t speak for themselves, as the Bush Administration loves to do.