A Glorious Distraction
This column was written by CBS News Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.
So the vice president shoots a guy and we don't find out about it for a day? How are we to interpret this? That Dick Cheney loathes the press and doesn't feel he has a responsibility to inform them of such things? That it's none of our business. How about: It wasn't a big deal? What's all the fuss about?
All kinds of folks have come to the vice president's defense, saying he's a master hunter and that the shooting could not possibly have been his fault.
Hunters I talked to today say hang on a minute. They say when hunting in a group like that, it's everyone's responsibility to stay in verbal communication — you know that dreaded two-way street — and maybe the vice president was shooting out of his zone. Nit pickers.
But oh, what a glorious distraction. Last week we learned that "Scooter" Libby told a grand jury that his superiors told him told him to leak certain classified information. Superiors like his boss, Dick Cheney? Hmm, that kind of shot could have real consequences.
Harry's daily commentary can be heard on manyCBS Radio News affiliates across the country.
By Harry Smith