Several recent diaries have spoken to the metaphors evident in the Cheney shooting story and the behaviors of the administration. Count me among those who think that this episode has longer legs than what the media will give it the next couple weeks. Many people pay only passing attention to political news and vote with limited knowledge. But "Vice President Shoots Man" is an attention grabber and is allegorical to the administration in a way that makes me think of...
Jimmy Carter and the "killer rabbit".
In 1979, the story line about Carter's presidency was not positive, and he battled an image of being weak and ineffective. In April, while fishing on his pond, he encountered a menacing rabbit.
Story is here:
http://www.narsil.org/...
A seemingly trivial story played in the media for some time and gave life to the criticism of his leadership, unfair as it may have been.
And so we have the Bush administration, already faced with growing doubts about its honesty and accountability, denying what is plain for the world to see. Cheney accidentally shoots a man but blames the victim for getting in his way. Even Field and Stream takes him to task. Sportsmen for Bush just took a big hit. And Bushco's lame handling of the matter has reinforced the view that it is not forthright. The damning Katrina reports coming out now will go a long way to undercutting the "safe and secure" premise of the Bush agenda, but the "Cheney Shoots Man" story will be remembered by many of the apolitical types as evidence of their untrustworthiness. The killer rabbit has climbed into the boat.