Editorial: Talking quail with Fox News

Friday, Feb. 17, 2006 | 12:31 p.m.

Vice President Dick Cheney, trying his hand at damage control following the fallout after he shot a hunting companion over the weekend, sat down for an interview with Fox News Channel on Wednesday. That's hardly a surprise since the Bush administration can count on the right-wing Fox News Channel to parrot whatever it is peddling at the moment.

Cheney did take responsibility for the accident, which occurred as he was aiming at a quail. Of course, that admission of responsibility came several days after the impression was left by the owner of the ranch, where the hunting accident happened, that the victim, Harry Whittington, was at fault. That original, erroneous perception of blame never would have occurred if Cheney had not designated the ranch owner to speak on his behalf and had instead forthrightly come out and talked on his own.

Nonetheless, it is amazing that Cheney still insists it was best for the ranch owner - not himself or an aide - to tell the public what happened. He also still claims that he was right in not informing the public for nearly a day that the shooting accident had occurred.

While Cheney has expressed belated sorrow for the accidental shooting, which resulted in one of the shotgun pellets traveling to Whittington's heart, it has done nothing to shake his supreme - albeit arrogant - confidence that the public just doesn't need to be bothered when the vice president of the United States shoots another man.