2008 Woodie Awards
Bush pleased with Cheney's apology
By Nedra Pickler
Issue date: 2/17/06 Section: News
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"I think that the vice president clearly explained the rationale behind that," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said, avoiding a direct response to questions about whether Bush felt the shooting accident was publicly disclosed in a timely manner.
The accident happened on Saturday but was not publicly revealed until the next day.
Cheney himself spoke publicly about the accident for the first time Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Fox News Channel. He said he did not see his hunting companion Harry Whittington until just after he fired on a covey of quail and peppered him with bird shot in the face, neck and chest.
Cheney described it as "one of the worst days of my life" and rejected the notion that Whittington bears any responsibility.
"I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend," Cheney said.
"The president's satisfied with what the vice president said yesterday," McClellan said Thursday. "I think the American people are looking at this and saying, enough already," he added.
Cheney also defended his decision to keep it from the public until a day after it happened.
The vice president acknowledged that McClellan and Bush communications adviser Dan Bartlett urged him to release information about the accident quickly.
But he said he made the ultimate decision to have the owner of the Texas ranch to reveal it to a local newspaper without any official announcement from the White House.
That decision created a major public relations problem for the White House, with some Republicans even suggesting that it made the situation worse by suggesting the possibility of some sort of cover-up.
Asked whether Bush encouraged Cheney to speak out Wednesday, McClellan said, "Obviously there are internal discussions that we have, and I'll leave those internal."
Cheney said the accident happened after Whittington stepped out of the hunting party to retrieve a downed bird in deep cover.
