Responsibility yours, Cheney; stand up and take it

Responsibility yours, Cheney; stand up and take it
Posted on Thursday, February 16, 2006
Mike Leggett, Austin American-Statesman

... Hunters assume a huge responsibility every time they pick up a shotgun. For knowing whether a particular bird is a mallard hen or a mottled duck or whether it's a killdeer and not a mourning dove. (See previous presidential shootings.)

They also assume the responsibility for being as safe as possible and knowing where the gun is pointed.

When we slide a cartridge down the gullet of a shotgun, when we climb on a hunting truck with another, we're assuming the responsibility for being safe or admitting when we aren't. That's understood, whether the hunter is an assistant cashier at the drug store or the vice president of the United States.

All is not lost here, though. Cheney can use the opportunity to make a strong statement for hunting safety, for wearing hunter orange behind bird dogs, for honesty. It would mean a lot to youngsters, and to everyday guys who make the same mistake, that the vice president didn't try to shuffle the blame onto someone else.

Stand up. Take responsibility. Be a man. You shot a guy.