Cheney shooting accident has political echoes

The political echoes from a single shotgun blast on the Texas prairie continued to reverberate across the nation Tuesday, growing especially loud in the nation's capital as journalists scrambled to piece together the full story behind Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental Saturday shooting of a hunting companion.

While politically motivated rants and bad jokes about the shooting of Harry Whittington spread like wildfire through office corridors and around the Web, the 78-year-old lawyer suffered "a silent heart attack," which doctors blamed on birdshot from Cheney's errant blast that had moved into or was touching his heart.

Whittington was immediately moved back to the intensive care unit for further treatment at a Corpus Christi, Texas, hospital, and the vice president, lauded and pilloried as the unflappable fix-it man of the Bush adminstration, once again moved into the white-hot spotlight of controversy.

Cheney issued a brief written statement saying that he "stood ready to assist" and that "his thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Whittington and his family," but the lack of any public comment from the vice president on the incident itself has only fueled questions and theories about what actually happened at Katharine Armstrong's 50,000-acre spread.

The dustup over the accident and when it was made public "is part of the secretive nature of this administration," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. "I think it’s time the American people heard from the vice president."

According to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department report issued Monday, Whittington was retrieving a downed quail about 5:30 p.m. CT and stepped out of the hunting line he was sharing with Cheney at Armstrong's ranch south of Corpus Christi. "Another covey was flushed and Cheney swung on a bird and fired, striking Whittington in the face, neck and chest at approximately 30 yards," the report said.

The report went on to note that neither Cheney, who wielded a .28-gauge Perazzi shotgun loaded with 7.5 birdshot, nor Whittington appeared to be under the influence of intoxicants or drugs. While Whittington had not taken a hunter safety course, optional for hunters of his and Cheney's age in Texas, state officials could not determine if Cheney had, the report said. While they had Texas hunting licenses, both men were admonished for failing to buy a $7 stamp allowing them to shoot upland game birds.  A department spokesman said warnings are being issued in most cases because the stamp requirement only went into effect five months ago and many hunters weren’t aware of it.

The department found the main cause of the accident was a “hunter’s judgment factor.” No secondary factors were found to have played a role.

Late Tuesday, Whittington, a wealthy Republican donor, was in stable condition and expected to stay in the hospital for another week to make sure that more birdshot does not move to vital organs.

Hospital officials said they knew that Whittington had some birdshot near his heart ever since the Saturday evening shooting. The pellet always was at risk of moving closer since scar tissue had not had time to harden and remain in place, they said.

They said they are not concerned about other birdshot — widely estimated to be between six and 200 pieces — that might still be lodged in Whittington’s body.

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