The Cheney Show

Assuming shooting victim Harry Whittington doesn’t suffer another heart attack, the next development in the Dick Cheney shooting story will take place when the vice president deigns to speak on the matter to the White House-friendly Brit Hume on FOX. The choice of venue is no surprise; Cheney’s ham-handed manipulation of the news surrounding the incident is par for his tenure as veep, and is a sure signifier of the disdain in which he holds both the media and the public.

But if thinks this evening’s packaged interview will put a period to the shooting story, he’s outsmarted himself.

Don’t hold your breath waiting for Hume to ask, “So what about that beer?” Better you ask MSNBC instead.

Addendum: Kevin Drum sums up what he calls “the consensus conspiracy theory” on the Cheney shooting affair, and what I call “what most likely happened.”

Conservatives who like to defend warrantless wiretaps and other governmental malfeasances often use the innocence refrain: If you haven’t done anything wrong, you shouldn’t be afraid of a little official attention.

Following that logic: why did Cheney hide out rather than coming forward? Nothing anyone’s said on his behalf adequately explains it.

But what Cheney hasn’t said - and how long he spent not saying it - speaks volumes.

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