Reagan's press secretary 'appalled' at handling of Cheney incident...

[MnFats]

www.editorandpublisher.com


NEW YORK Former White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater criticized Vice President Dick Cheney Tuesday for delaying the release of information about his hunting accident on Saturday, saying Cheney "ignored his responsibility to the American people." He told E&P he was "appalled by the whole handling of this."

"The responsibility for handling this, of course, was Cheney's," Fitzwater, who served as presidential press secretary for George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, told E&P in a phone interview from his Maryland home. "What he should have done was call his press secretary and tell her what happened and she then would have gotten a hold of the doctor and asked him what happened. Then interview Katharine Armstrong to get her side of events and then put out a statement to inform the public.

"They could have done all of that in about two hours on Saturday. It is beyond me why it was not done this way."

The shooting victim, Harry Whittington, suffered a heart attack today when birdshot migrated to his heart but is still listed in stable condition.

Fitzwater pointed out that the White House had very set policies about handling unexpected events when he was there. "We had a very specific plan if the president or vice president were involved in any kind of incident like this," he told E&P. "It was a very precise plan of who would call who and how the information would get out."

[MADem]

1. Wow, now THAT is something!!!

Of course, under the Reagan administration, we KNEW who was in charge--and it wasn't the office of the VeePee!!! It was James friken Baker!!!! The lead dog's staff got the best view!

[speedoo]

2. It was Cheney's AND "'s responsibility.

The fucking pResident is not getting off easy on this.

They are both going down.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. Yes, once * was notified, he owned it too.

[VOX]

3. When old-line right-wingers are pissed, you **know** it's bad! n/t

[keopeli]

4. Bush*bots do not plan. They just react.

"We had a very specific plan if the president or vice president were involved in any kind of incident like this," he told E&P. "It was a very precise plan of who would call who and how the information would get out."

Think Iraq, 9/11, Katrina, Abu Graib.

The only thing they plan for are elections.

[glitch]

7. And they react emotionally.

I guess that's all they've got.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

6. Does anyone else find this hysterical?

"We had a very specific plan if the president or vice president were involved in any kind of incident like this,". Like they already had a plan in place if raygun or poppy shot someone while they were 'hunting'? Did ol' marley think there was a possibility of that happening?

[Leilani]

9. Reagan did not hunt

In fact, he had rattlesnakes trapped on his ranch & moved elsewhere because he didn't want them killed.

Bush Senior fished, didn't hunt.

Fitzwater meant bad situations.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

11. um, it was a joke.

And poppy was given a very expensive rifle or shotgun (forget which) when he got boooted out in '92.

[LittleClarkie]

8. I love that you can tell the talking point is that

the press is going ape about not being told because they just don't like Cheney, and that there are more important things in the world to be paying attention to than a hunting accident.

[MnFats]

10. yeah, but with people like Fitzwater chiming in it's no longer a...

...partisan rant of Dems trying to hassle the Veep.
...Fitzwater didn't have to enter the fray. You can tell he's genuinely pissed.