Cover-up is Underway

Yesterday on Meet The Press, Cheney's ghoulish beard, Mary Matalin tried mightily to put the best face possible on the 'shooting mishap' this week. Trying to avoid the subject – Cheney did shoot someone in the face - and evading any recognition of the fact that his lack of public notification has dishonored his office and disregarded America's citizens, she soldiered on, looking more foolish with every statement.

Q: Initially, there was—seemed to be an attempt to blame Mr. Whittington. Was the vice president part of that? Aware of it?

A: Absolutely not. When I spoke to the vice president Sunday morning, he made it more than clear that it was his fault, no matter what the conditions, no matter how much the shared risk. That this should not be blamed on Harry......

So after Armstrong and Scott McClellan had stated that it was Whittington's fault for not letting Cheney know of his approach, we hear that Cheney had expressly told everyone Sunday AM that Whittington should not be blamed. People must regularly disregard Cheney's instructions. Normal White House protocol must also be to make fun of the situation and the fact that someone could have been killed. At least Whittington's friends are sticking up for him – maybe this is why Dickie crawled into the warm womb of FOX News for his 'interview' the next day.

Q: Was alcohol in any way, shape or form consumed during the afternoon? And should we accept the [Vice] president’s “a beer” as literally one beer?

A: What Katharine Armstrong was answering is a literal fact going to the question she was asked, which is always the case on the Armstrong ranch, you don’t drink and hunt, and you don’t hunt with drinkers. And that’s what the sheriff reported, that’s what she reported. It is true that the vice president had a beer at lunch, and let me ask anybody sitting at this table who knows the vice president, has known him for many years, has seen him in social situations, he’s known not to be a drinker. But let me ask you a more logical question—you think the Secret Service would let the vice president out, tanked up, with a loaded gun, or let him be around anybody who’s drunk with a loaded gun? It just defies common sense that the press would even go there. And that’s why these adversarial question-and- answer periods set up the presumption that Cheney would be drunk, or having to deny that Cheney was drunk, as opposed to presuming what we all know, that he doesn’t drink, he wouldn’t hunt and drink, the Secret Service wouldn’t let anybody around him who is drinking and hunting.

So the rule at Armstrong Ranch is you don't drink and hunt – except when you drink beer at lunch. Cheney had beer at lunch, but he's not a drinker. Cheney had a cocktail later that evening – but he's not a drinker. The Secret Service would not allow Cheney out 'tanked up' or to be around anyone who has a gun and had been drinking – except when they had been drinking.

Q: Scott McClellan said he was speaking for himself and the president when he said that this could have been handled better..... Could the vice president have handled this better?

A: ...And I think what most normal people would empathize with—that is, people who have a full complement of human empathy—is that a—that person who shot his friend in the face would be most concerned with that friend’s health, with giving that friend help, with getting to that friend’s family, with consoling the other parties that were in the—with him that weekend. That’s a little bit different situation. The problem with these rules is that they’re presumed to be inviolate. This vice president, who is logical and who is human, was not following the conventional rule, but he wasn’t doing anything that was irrational, that’s for sure.

So what are “these rules”? Could they be LAWS? Could one of these rules require shootings to be reported to the police? Could another of these rules require that those involved in shootings submit to breathalyser and blood tests to screen for alcohol and drugs?

Q: Once he (Cheney) was assured—excuse me—that Mr. Whittington was in the ambulance, on his way to his hospital, being transferred to another hospital, that any time during that night, before or after dinner, did he consider picking up the phone, calling the president, saying, “Mr. President, I want to tell you something terrible has happened. I shot a man inadvertently in a hunting accident, and I wanted you to be—to know and hear it from me”?

A: Well, understand, what’s going on in the course of the evening, they’re in this 50,000- acre farm, it took a half-hour for the ambulance to even reach them, they had to get out, so—by the time they got back and called the family, located them, got them to the hospital, and made all those machinations, it’s now, what, 10 or 11 o’clock back here? The vice president knew that the president had been informed within the hour, he knew that Karl Rove, who’s dear friends with Katharine Armstrong and Harry Whittington, had called, so he knew that the president had a full accounting. I’m not—this question’s repeatedly asked—I’m not sure what the implication of it is. What purpose would have been served by the vice president then waking up the president to say, “Feel my pain”? He knew he was fully informed, and he knew he was informed from personal friends, not just from the medics and the Secret Service. I just am hard-pressed to understand what is—what are we trying to—what itch are we trying to scratch?

So again, why didn't Cheney talk to the President?

Q: Mary Matalin....the overall approval of the vice president, and here it is. Approve: 29 percent; disapprove 41 percent. A 29 percent approval rating. Will that hamper the vice president’s effectiveness in terms of governing, or helping fellow Republicans in the midterm elections?

A: Absolutely not. Why—I’ve heard this repeatedly for six years. He’s been the whipping boy for the liberals for six years.....no, it doesn’t diminish his effectiveness, nor has his role in any way been diminished at the White House.

Of course not, Cheney's in charge after all. Georgie's been told what to say too.

More contradictions here, here, here, here.
Posted on The Human Stain