Left-leaning blogs have been fairly unanimous in condemning DIck Cheney, Scott McClellan and other Bush administration officials for their handling of the Harry Whittington shooting. Right-leaning blogs have revealed a split in the conservative forces between those who support the assertion that this is Whittington's fault that he got shot and Cheney has nothing to apologize for versus those who, at a minimum, express concern with the Bush administration's handling of the matter with others speculating on the potential impact on the GOP and gun rights. I recommend to you Alphecca's blog (first linked from Instapundit) for a Red State-flavored argument among experienced hunters on the topic. It mirrors much of the discourse here in DC with many conservative hunters questioning the facts with others

supporting the Vice President. Generally speaking, one hunter shooting at another hunter is seen among many outdoor sportsmen as often at best, incompetent and/or drunken shooting and at worst, a malevolent action -- a firearm Freudian slip. Thus, some blogs are speculating on whether or not alcohol use had any role to play in the accident. The blogs are also buzzing about the paper at the center of the accident, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Today, an avid hunter used a paper target to simulate the impact of taking a load of birdshot at 30 yards. Check out the results. Bloggers are questioning the true severity, particularly post-cardiac event, of the victim's injuries. Look for this line of speculation to continue in the blogs. Excerpt: "We can pretty much see that at least over 200 BBs have touched this area right here," [George] Gongora said, motioning to the face and torso area of the target. Yesterday, the Smoking Gun's publication of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept report in which blame is placed squarely on the shooter with only light cover noted was a popular topic of analysis among bloggers on the long tail. Bob Cesca at the Huffington Post has an even more spicy rumor that part of the delay in reporting the shooting centered on the potential nature of the hunting party entitled "Was Cheney hiding his Lewinsky"? 2 single women (1 linked to Cheney), 1 single man -- plus Dick Cheney. It may be one explanation why Lynne Cheney, who is often brought out into the public eye to soften her husband's image, has not been visible to date on this issue. For example, one scenario might involve Mrs. Cheney visiting Whittington's family in person and hold press conferences from Corpus Christi. Yet that's not how the story has unfolded thus far. The rumors are flying quick and thick in the air here in Washington D.C. Essentially Dick Cheney is rumored not to care what other people, particularly journalists, think and refused Karl Rove's proposed master strategy for damage control, choosing to handle the issue out of his office. Cheney hasn't given a press conference in years. Comparisons in the blogs to Sen. Ted Kennedy and a certain car accident some years abound. Like Kennedy, it seems likely this incident may shadow Cheney the rest of his life. The trouble with Dick is that any open press conference featuring him carries the threat of difficult questions for Cheney, such as his insistence (despite mounting evidence to the contrary) that Iraq had WMDs and that Saddam Hussein was directly linked to Al Qaeda, Katrina and Homeland Security's failures, domestic wiretapping, Scooter Libby's leak and who authorized it, his stance on torture and so on. The Washington Post led the online version of the paper today with a revealing article that implies that only direct orders from George W. Bush would result in a press appearance starring his Number 2. Stay tuned for the blogs' reaction to Cheney's Fox News appearance today...Here's an MSNBC article that expands on the theme of bloggers and Dick Cheney.