Trauma

In his taped, edited and massaged interview on the Faux News Network (the Voice of the Republican party), Dick Cheney said the day he shot Harry Whittington in the face and chest (keep that in mind--the Veep shot a man in the face) was one of "the worst days of my life." Today's gaggle with Scott McClellan produced an excellent question.

Q One other quick one. Vice President Cheney talked yesterday about the trauma of seeing his friend fall to the ground when he shot him, and I was wondering whether this has caused Mr. Cheney to reflect on the kind of trauma that's experienced daily by the men and women in the military who have to shoot people?

Or the men and women in the military who have to watch their friends and comrades become maimed or die?

Scott's response:

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, here's another example of where I think this town sometimes gets into taking an incident like this and trying to draw broader conclusions or over interpret or overanalyze things and get into all sorts of other issues. We are all deeply concerned about our men and women in uniform who have been injured. We are deeply concerned for all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom. And their families remain in our thoughts and prayers.

And I think you've seen that by what the President and Vice President have done, Victoria. They have visited the wounded, they have visited the families of the fallen, and they will continue to do so. But I think that it's just absurd to try to get into looking at it in the way that you just suggested.

So it is "absurd" to ask if the Veep, after shooting a friend in the face and claiming it has traumatized him, might have thought about how those in the military go through this trauma on a regular basis. Compassionate this conservative ain't!

Also note that Scottie cannot include, among the actions Bush and Cheney have taken, attendance at a fallen soldier's funeral. Hasn't happened in the nearly three years of the war in Iraq. Doubt we'll see Cheney at one ever. Someone might absurdly draw comparisons between Cheney's trauma and that of the fallen soldier's family.