Vice President Dick Cheney is finally breaking his silence about his hunting accident. He is appearing on Fox News Channel — of course — at 5 tonight. As this Washington Post article notes, the White House has not been happy with how the vice president’s office has handled the accident, and has been pushing for Cheney to make a public statement.
Meanwhile, the jokes keep coming — though the report Tuesday about Harry Whittington’s heart attack slowed them some. Here is a roundup:
From David Letterman: "We can’t get bin Laden, but we nailed a 78-year-old attorney."
From Leno: "That’s the big story over the weekend. … Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fellow hunter, a 78-year-old lawyer. In fact, when people found out he shot a lawyer, his popularity is now at 92 percent."
And those in politics were busy making jokes, too. Here’s a couple from a Washington Post roundup:
"Bush-Quail ’06," cracked Democratic strategist Jenny Backus.
"The CIA assured Cheney that Harry Whittington was actually a pheasant," added Democratic speechwriter Jeff Nussbaum.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
To its credit, the Kansas House didn’t hesitate Tuesday to approve a minimum marrying age of 18 with a stunning 121-1 vote, also rightly making it possible for 16- and 17-year-olds to marry with parental consent. The measure now goes to the Senate, which should be similarly single-minded in ensuring that no more out-of-staters can turn their 14-year-old rape victims into child brides in Kansas. Unfortunately, the lone “no” voter was one of Wichita’s own, Republican Rep. Bonnie Huy (in photo), who noted her sister married at 15 and has been married for 50 years. “Again, government is interfering with the rights of parents to raise their children,” Huy said. To which the obvious response is: No, government is belatedly doing its duty to ensure that adult sex with a young teen, which is illegal in this state, cannot be legitimized by a wedding.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is supposed to be wrapping up an investigation of whether the White House misused and cherry-picked intelligence information in the run-up to the war in Iraq.
It will be interesting to see if Roberts’ unyielding defense of the White House on this point will hold up in light of revelations from people such as Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA analyst who wrote in the current issue of Foreign Affairs that the Bush team “used intelligence not to inform decision-making, but to justify a decision already made.”
Pillar is attracting his critics, too. But such charges can’t be dismissed out of hand. Roberts has a responsibility to get to the truth. Will he deliver?
Posted by Randy Scholfield
No, Vice President Dick Cheney’s hunting accident isn’t an international incident. There are far more important issues for the press to be grilling the White House about. But it was outrageous that the ranch owner, and then White House press secretary Scott McClellan, suggested that it was the poor sap who got shot who was to blame by not announcing his presence or otherwise following hunting “protocol.”
What gall. As hunting experts told The Eagle, Cheney was 100 percent to blame for shooting a fellow hunter. It’s that simple.
Yes, it was an accident. But take responsibility for your actions.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
At the tireless urging of Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, the Kansas Senate has passed a booster seat bill four times, only to see it expire in the House over concerns that it’s too intrusive in family life. But the research and anecdotes about these seats prodded the collective conscience of House lawmakers into finally approving the legislation Monday on a 90-29 vote. If the bill clears the Senate again, parents will begin to risk a $60 fine if they fail to put their 4- through 7-year-olds in booster seats. But some parents also will be spared the heartbreak of seeing their child killed or injured in crashes. Our editorial today notes that as reasons to pass a law go, that’s as good as it gets.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius still isn’t talking about her re-election bid this fall, let alone higher office years from now. But that won’t stop others from sizing up Sebelius as a potential national candidate, especially with the Democrat earning a 61 percent approval rating in the latest SurveyUSA poll of this Republican state. Usually Sebelius’ name comes up as a possible candidate for vice president. But Newsweek contributing editor Eleanor Clift didn’t stop there in a speech Sunday at Lawrence’s Dole Institute of Politics, downplaying Sen. Hillary Clinton’s chances but suggesting Sebelius might have what it takes: “She comes from a political family, and she’s done a good job,” Clift said of Sebelius. “She is the kind of woman who you could imagine having prospects.” Meanwhile, Geena Davis’ deft portrayal of the prez every Tuesday night on ABC can’t help but ready the American psyche for the moment a woman will take the oath. It’s coming.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
As of Monday, Wichita’s trash is no longer being shipped to Oklahoma. It’s now going to Waste Connections’ new landfill in Harper County. So shouldn’t that mean that our high trash bills will come down some, because the new landfill is about 100 miles closer? You would think. But Waste Connections district manager Paul Schelstrate says the company won’t alter its rates. Another reason Sedgwick County needs to franchise its trash collections.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
