From Knight Ridder by William Douglas – White House blames the man Cheney shot

WASHINGTON – The White House blamed the 78-year-old man whom Vice President 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.

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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.

“Particularly identify the game that you are shooting and particularly identify your surroundings, that it’s safe to shoot,” said Mark Birkhauser, the incoming president of the International Hunter Education Association, a group of fish and wildlife agencies. “Every second, you’re adjusting your personal information that it is a safe area to shoot or it’s not a safe area to shoot.”

Safe-hunting rules published by the National Rifle Association and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department echo Birkhauser’s advice.

This is just sad… We expect our leaders to be examples of integrity and accountability. It’s called taking responsibility, not obfuscation.

Should we expect the same from government employees, businesses, and welfare recipients? No, we expect responsibility and accountability from them.

So it goes…