Cheney Shooting Possibly Caused By Stroke

   Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot Harry Whittington, a fellow hunter, last week in Texas.  The shooting was not announced for 21 hours.  It was made public, not by the Vice-President's office, but by the owner of the ranch where the men were hunting.

   When the police arrived to investigate, the Vice-President was "unavailable."  Four days later, Cheney appeared on an interview show on Fox Television where he took full responsibility for the shooting.  Furthermore, Whittington, upon his release from the hospital, apologized to the Vice-President for the trouble he had caused.  Who ever heard of the victim of a shooting apologizing to the perpetrator?

   It is more probable that the accidental shooting was caused by a medical event of the Vice-President's, possibly a mild, transitory stroke.  This explanation fits the facts much better than the proffered explanations.

   One look at the Vice-President will tell anyone that he is not a well man.  He is so bloated as to be almost unrecognizable.  It is well known that Cheney has heart trouble.  His appearance and medical history leads one to believe that he must be on a cocktail of heart medications.

   Most likely, because of medication or a medical problem, Cheney never even saw the hunter who was standing in right in front of him.  People suffering strokes lose vision.  The reason for the 21 hour delay in announcing the incident was not just to concoct a story, but because the Vice-President was probably in some medical difficulties himself.  That's why he was "unavailable" when the police came by to investigate.

    Remember, the Vice-President is under 24 hour a day Secret Service protection.  That's probably the only reason the shooting victim survived.  Cheney travels with emergency medical resources and never appears in a truly public setting. It is almost beyond imagining that such an "accident" could happen when someone is surrounded by secret service agents.  Then, it was three or four days before Cheney appeared in public to explain the incident, another indication that he was having some sort of trouble.

    Of course, the comedians and Democrats have had a field day making jokes and throwing partisan barbs at the Vice-President's expense.  Notice how neither the White House nor the Vice-President's Office are striking back or defending Cheney.  The Bush Administration is only too happy to have this "accident" portrayed as one of incompetence, stupidity or chicanery.  That's because the truth, that Cheney is severely ill and probably no longer physically fit to hold the office of Vice-President, would be far more damaging.

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Contact: Joshua Leinsdorf