I am pleased that as I listen to Bill O'Reilly's radio show right now, I hear he has made the same case that I made this morning: that the media will not approach the Al Gore speech in Saudi Arabia with the same sort of vigor as they will the Dick Cheney shooting.
Let's take a quick look at today's Washington Post. First, we have media commentator Howard Kurtz suggesting that Harry Whittington, who was shot by Mr. Cheney, was injured by buck shot (which is an aggressive pellet for killing large mammals). That Mr. Whittington was shot by size 7 1/2 bird shot seems irrelevant, considering the sensation Mr. Kurtz is intent on making. Next, there is the column by Eugene Robinson, Col. Jessep Goes A-Hunting, which begins with this: "I told you people Dick Cheney was dangerous." Mr. Robinson clarifies our muddy vision with the additional descriptive that Cheney is "trigger-happy," and "out of control" (and all this in the first few sentences). Then Post blogger Joel Achenbach needed to bring us even more clarity, enlightening us about "Dead-eye Dick" and the Hamilton/Burr duel; at the same time Dan Froomkin weighs in with his "Shoots, Hides, and Leaves" (original title!). Not to be outdone, the Post's editors give us today's lead editorial, "When The Veep Shoots Someone." All this about an accident which, according to The New York Times, was not a reportable event according to Texas Law, being a non-fatal hunting accident.
Moreover, note that all this was posted by the Post while everyone was under the impression that the wounds were not life-threatening. However, minutes ago it was reported that some bird pellets have injured Mr. Whittington's heart, leading to a heart attack. Imagine the news-cycle now.
Lastly, in all of the garment-rending going on about the slowness by which the media were informed, it should be noted that The New York Times printed five --five!!-- letters to the editor. That's some turnaround for a public that's left in the darkness (or so it goes, on and on)!!
©Bill Gnade 2006/Contratimes - All Rights Reserved.
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