# I always knew Cheney was quick to temper after that, "Go fuck yourself,"... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 12, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164 "2006-02-12T21:45:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/101 "2006-02-13T15:24:17Z")
From the Associated Press: > [@](#): > > As Whittington emerged from the brush, Cheney swung around to face him, holding his shotgun with one hand, Terminator style. The Vice President then remarked, “Hey Harry, why don’t you go [censored] yourself?” As Cheney squeezed the trigger Whittington tried to sprint away, only to be knocked down by the blast from the weapon. As Whittington rolled onto his back, he saw Cheney approach and stand over him. As the shotgun was slowly leveled at his face, Cheney said coldly, “Let’s finish this.” :eek: Also… > [@](#): > > Staffers in the Vice President’s office have come forward with comments Mr. Cheney had made last week. “I heard him mention something about hunting ‘the most dangerous game’ last week at the water cooler, but I didn’t think anything of it.” :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/102 "2006-02-13T15:30:08Z")
> [@flight](#): > > Can you imagine if it was? Man, it would still be just a hunting accident, but the humor value would go through the roof. We’d be talking about it a decade from now. I first heard the news on the radio that was in the process of waking me. I was under the impression for a while that it was Dan Quayle he shot. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/103 "2006-02-13T15:36:57Z")
> [@flight](#): > > Can you imagine if it was [Libby]? Man, it would still be just a hunting accident, but the humor value would go through the roof. We’d be talking about it a decade from now. (insertion mine) I read a great line somewhere - I think it might have been on Huffington Post - to this effect, although it might have involved someone from a different leak-related matter. Regardless, they envisioned Cheney standing over the body asking “Who’s leaking now, fucker?” ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/104 "2006-02-13T15:40:38Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > What’s unseemly is shotgunning an old man in the face and then trying to blame the old man for it. That is it in a nutshell. As long as we are waiting for all the facts to come in, why assume the Cheney version is true? We only have his word that Whittington approached them from behind unannounced. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/105 "2006-02-13T15:42:07Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by Frank > > It’s a perfectly reasonable assumption, both in hunting accidents and car accidents, that at least one person involved did something stupid. > > I don’t know that it’s perfectly reasonable to assume anything. How many people died in those Firestone-defective tires accidents? It would seem to me that in this case, it was someone at Firestone that did something stupid. ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/106 "2006-02-13T15:50:35Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > It would seem to me that in this case, it was someone at Firestone that did something stupid. **Mr Moto** , I think he’s right in that the overwhelming majority of accidents someone was being a dumbass. They may not actually _be_ a dumbass, but they were _being_ a dumbass. Also, the little I know of hunting comes from the extremely safety conscious members of this board, and I seem to recall them saying, in effect, “If someone gets shot, someone was being a dumbass.” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/107 "2006-02-13T16:00:31Z")
Even if Whittington contributed by walking incautiously up behind an armed VP, Cheney was still negligent in the way he wheeled and fired without paying attention to what was in his line of fire. No matter what the circumstances, though, if you accidentally shoot a guy (especially an _old_ guy) , the decent to do is to take responsibility and apologize. It doesn’t matter if you think the victim was careless in some way, it’s just good manners to apologize for accidentally ventilating a dude with a shotgun. It strikes me as incredibly classless to reflexibly go into defensive spin mode and throw the old guy under the bus the way they’re doing. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/108 "2006-02-13T16:34:48Z")
Well, at least now we know where the buck(shot) really stops. yes, yes, I know it was birdshot ---
**Author:** ![Jeeves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@Jeeves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeeves)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/109 "2006-02-13T16:53:09Z")
What I despise is calling these things Cheney goes on hunting. Yes, it resembles hunting in that there are guns being fired at live animals in order to kill them. (Yes, I realize thats probably the best definition) But real hunting involves at least a small amount of luck and skill, while Cheney’s canned hunt are no more difficult then going to chicken farm and blasting them in their cages. When someone makes sure that hundreds of birds are were you are, and you can kill a hundred or more birds in a weekend, thats not hunting, thats just bloodlust. Its pathetic, I know that the white house has to feed alot of people, but I highly doubt that most of what Cheney shoots gets eaten. I think the nature of these hunts revelas more about his character than anything else. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/110 "2006-02-13T17:00:36Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > Y’know, I have heard through various reputable sources that drinking and hunting go together like green eggs and ham. Could this explain the fact that Mr. Whittington foolishly hurled himself face-first in front of Dick Cheney’s shotgun, which Cheney had pointed at his own crotch out of pure concern for safety? Hmmmm? Hmmmmmm? Hmmmmmmmm? Ya gotta cite for one of those “reputable sources,” you useless fuckhead? I can assure you that drinking and guns do not go together for the vast majority of shooters - under **any** circumstances. > [@Slacker](#): > > From the Associated Press: Ya know, making deliberately false statements here is an actionable offense. Given the number of comments from people in this thread which reveal they know little or nothing about upland bird hunting (or even guns and shooting in general), your statement is exceptionally misleading. > [@contrapuntal](#): > > That is it in a nutshell. As long as we are waiting for all the facts to come in, why assume the Cheney version is true? We only have his word that Whittington approached them from behind unannounced. Perhaps because the story isn’t _Cheney’s_ version; the incident is told by a third-party observer. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > No matter what the circumstances, though, if you accidentally shoot a guy (especially an old guy) , the decent to do is to take responsibility and apologize. It doesn’t matter if you think the victim was careless in some way, it’s just good manners to apologize for accidentally ventilating a dude with a shotgun. It strikes me as incredibly classless to reflexibly go into defensive spin mode and throw the old guy under the bus the way they’re doing. I’d agree wholeheartedly with everything you said - except you seem to neglect an important fact. Cheney did take responsibility for the shooting at the scene immediately after the incident. It’s right there in the Fox story linked in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/111 "2006-02-13T17:01:37Z")
> [@Jeeves](#): > > I think the nature of these hunts revelas more about his character than anything else. Perhaps it would reveal something about most people’s nature, but I think we all knew that about Cheney already. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/112 "2006-02-13T17:05:27Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Perhaps because the story isn’t _Cheney’s_ version; the incident is told by a third-party observer. Fair enough. However, I think my larger point obtains. Absent an investigation we only have someone’s word that it went down as stated. I seem to remember you being somewhat of a gun enthusiast. Isn’t a primary rule of hunting that one does not pull the trigger until one is sure of one’s target? ( I am asking for education here, not asking rhetorically.) If that is true, does not blame attach to Cheney _ipso facto_? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/113 "2006-02-13T17:06:40Z")
> [@Jeeves](#): > > What I despise is calling these things Cheney goes on hunting. Yes, it resembles hunting in that there are guns being fired at live animals in order to kill them. (Yes, I realize thats probably the best definition) But real hunting involves at least a small amount of luck and skill, while Cheney’s canned hunt are no more difficult then going to chicken farm and blasting them in their cages. When someone makes sure that hundreds of birds are were you are, and you can kill a hundred or more birds in a weekend, thats not hunting, thats just bloodlust. Its pathetic, I know that the white house has to feed alot of people, but I highly doubt that most of what Cheney shoots gets eaten. I think the nature of these hunts revelas more about his character than anything else. We went thru all this after Cheney’s last canned hunt broke the news. In fact, the kill from that hunt went to kitchens which help feed the homeless. I’d be very surprised if the same didn’t happen this time. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/114 "2006-02-13T17:08:17Z")
> [@flight](#): > > **Mr Moto** , I think he’s right in that the overwhelming majority of accidents someone was being a dumbass. They may not actually _be_ a dumbass, but they were _being_ a dumbass. > > Also, the little I know of hunting comes from the extremely safety conscious members of this board, and I seem to recall them saying, in effect, “If someone gets shot, someone was being a dumbass.” Here you go, **Mr. Moto** , exactly what this OP was all about. Frankly, it’s hard to argue with this sentiment, but I’m glad to see that someone feels compelled to try. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/115 "2006-02-13T17:08:35Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > As long as we are waiting for all the facts to come in, why assume the Cheney version is true? We only have his word that Whittington approached them from behind unannounced. What you have isn’t Cheney’s “version” but a firsthand observer to the event, Katherine Armstrong. > [@](#): > > Whittington “came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn’t signal them or indicate to them or announce himself,” Armstrong said. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > No matter what the circumstances, though, if you accidentally shoot a guy (especially an old guy) , the decent to do is to take responsibility and apologize. It doesn’t matter if you think the victim was careless in some way, it’s just good manners to apologize for accidentally ventilating a dude with a shotgun. > [@Same referenced Yahoo article](#): > > Armstrong, owner of the Armstrong Ranch where the accident occurred, said Whittington was bleeding and **Cheney was very apologetic.** _bolding mine_ I’m sure Cheney feels terrible but you don’t make statements, especially someone in his position, that all the responsibility for an accident is yours just because you feel bad about the fact it happened. I don’t see anyone’s account so far as being anything other than reporting the events as they happened. Cheney bears blame for a lot of things but that doesn’t translate without reservation to culpability in this. Upon preview, **UncleBeer** and I are of somewhat the same mind on this. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/116 "2006-02-13T17:10:51Z")
BTW - any truth to the rumors that Cheney had the lawyer in a cage in the back of his pickup, then released him and gave him a 30 second head start? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/117 "2006-02-13T17:13:10Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > What you have isn’t Cheney’s “version” but a firsthand observer to the event, Katherine Armstrong. Armstrong stayed in the car. How can she know that Whittington did not “announce himself”? How accurate can her first hand observation be? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/118 "2006-02-13T17:18:15Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > This kills me. An unfortunate turn of phrase, or evidence of the liberal media bias? > > ``` > From the article-- > > ``` > > > [@](#): > > > > : > > The shooting is unlikely one of a dispute over politics as Burka said Whittington has strong Republican credentials. Well, you see, up to this point in the sentence, the author is pointing out that Cheney most likely wouldn’t have been shooting him for conventional political reasons, his victim being a fellow Republican and all… > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > However, he is also known as an exemplary individual. > > See? You can be a Republican and still be a nice guy! You’re missing the point! In this remaining clause of the sentence, the writer is pointing out that Mr. Whittington has these redeeming characteristics, and this, no doubt, explains why Mr. Cheney found it necessary and appropriate to shoot him! Well, he said “however”, didn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/119 "2006-02-13T17:18:45Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > I’d agree wholeheartedly with everything you said - except you seem to neglect an important fact. Cheney did take responsibility for the shooting at the scene immediately after the incident. It’s right there in the Fox story linked in the OP. I’m talking about what his people have said publicly. They initially refused to even admit that the incident had occurred and once they were forced to comment they chose to immediately blame the victim. We only have Armstrong’s word that Cheney was apologetic at the scene anyway. I find her to be a dubious witness. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164/120 "2006-02-13T17:20:54Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > What you have isn’t Cheney’s “version” but a firsthand observer to the event, Katherine Armstrong._bolding mine_ > > I’m sure Cheney feels terrible but you don’t make statements, especially someone in his position, that all the responsibility for an accident is yours just because you feel bad about the fact it happened. I don’t see anyone’s account so far as being anything other than reporting the events as they happened. Cheney bears blame for a lot of things but that doesn’t translate without reservation to culpability in this. > > Upon preview, **UncleBeer** and I are of somewhat the same mind on this. Why isn’t Cheney culpable? What is significant about his position? Why don’t Vice Presidents have to take responsibility when they shoot people? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-always-knew-cheney-was-quick-to-temper-after-that-go-fuck-yourself/344164.md?page=7)