Cheney the Marksman

While quail hunting in Texas recently, Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot Republican fundraiser Harry Whittington with a 28-guage shotgun. Whittington suffered face, neck & torso injuries, and a minor heart attack caused by a lead-shot pellet lodged in his heart, but recovered. The incident has been the focus of relentless media coverage, nationwide satire, and has led to vehement political arguments & criticisms of the press.

In 18th-century America, proficiency with firearms was like driving today--an essential skill most everyone possessed. To colonials who lived near frontiers & hunted frequently, an accident like Cheney’s would be a much less significant event. 

Washington was skewered in newspapers for signing a peace treaty with England, and Jefferson endured a Lewinskyesque scandal when a muckraker accused him of fathering children with his slave Sally Hemings. The Founders would hardly be shocked by the public's insatiable interest in stories like the Cheney shooting, but would realize that television exacerbates coverage.

Jefferson and Franklin used newspapers to influence public opinion, and would not be surprised to see foes of the Vice President attempting the same. Washington would disapprove strongly, and consider the Cheney shooting a textbook example of why he always opposed factionalism & partisanship: he felt concern for the greater good is ultimately lost in a fervent desire to defeat the opposing party.

In terms of sheer shock value, the Founders would also consider the Cheney shooting tepid. While Jefferson was President, his Vice President Aaron Burr killed ex-Treasury-Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Suppose Cheney had intentionally shot someone like Paul O'Neil or Alan Greenspan and murdered them. That would be a scandal comparable to those our Founders endured.

Welcome to The Junto!

Junto - Prelude to President’s Day

Junto - Cheney the Marksman

Junto - Caveat Emptor: The Abramoff Scandal

Junto - The Tax Man Cometh

Junto - For A Few Casualties More: Memorial Day

Junto - Is The Melting Pot Boiling Over?

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