Should the White House have informed the media

This photo provided by the White House shows Vice President Dick Cheney (left) talking with Brit Hume of Fox News in his office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, Wednesday. The vice president talked about the accidental shooting of friend and fellow hunter Harry Whittington on the Armstrong Ranch.

SURVEY RESULTS
Should the White House have informed the media about the shooting on Saturday night when they found out?

READER COMMENTS:
Choice 1
"Took Cheney four days to behave like a leader."
February 16, 2006, 2:21 PM

Choice 1
"the only reason to not report an accident immediately is to allow t"
February 16, 2006, 2:05 PM

Choice 1
"Heck Yes"
February 16, 2006, 1:47 PM

Choice 2
"I would want to hear about a family member being hurt privately, not from the media. Sometimes we forget that family is more important than politics! There were two children hurt in a car accident recently because they were not secured"
February 16, 2006, 1:23 PM

Choice 2
"He did the right thing in waiting and showing more concern for his friend then getting everything out to gossip"
February 16, 2006, 1:06 PM

Choice 2
"they did... the corpus christi caller times"
February 16, 2006, 1:00 PM

Choice 2
"The TV Media is crazy."
February 16, 2006, 12:34 PM

Choice 2
"Clinton: Private life should remain private."
February 16, 2006, 12:31 PM

Choice 2
"WHY IN THE WORLD IS THE PRESS MAKING SUSH A BIG THING OUT OF THIS.?"
February 16, 2006, 12:29 PM

Choice 2
"not a big deal no one was killed....as long as every one was informed..much to do about nothing"
February 16, 2006, 12:12 PM

Choice 2
"Come on-they wanted the facts on Whittingtons medical condition."
February 16, 2006, 12:09 PM

Choice 2
"Quit making a big deal about an accident - get a grip!"
February 16, 2006, 12:06 PM

Choice 2
"The victim has the riht to a little privacy. No crime i sreported to media at a perfect immidiancy so why sohuld this accident? If they had annoucned it immidiatly the hospital would ahve been swamed with media during crucial time to save a"
February 16, 2006, 12:01 PM

Choice 2
"The media is far less important to the daily functioning of the universe than they think they are"
February 16, 2006, 11:59 AM

Choice 2
"the media can wait while the life of a person needs to be tended first. The media like to report drama where there is none."
February 16, 2006, 11:56 AM

Choice 2
"Pepole have nothing better to do but GOSSIP. They just want to make somthing big out of ll this."
February 16, 2006, 11:51 AM

Choice 1
"What is the big deal?"
February 16, 2006, 11:47 AM

Choice 1
"What if it was other way round?"
February 16, 2006, 11:47 AM

Choice 2
"GET OVER IT! the people are tired of hearing about it. Surely there is more important news"
February 16, 2006, 11:42 AM

Choice 1
"This just shows us once again that Cheney does exactly what he wants to do no matter who it hurts. He thinkshe is above the law!! And if he is so sick that he has to keep a medical detail with him at all times ten he should have resigned"
February 16, 2006, 11:40 AM

Choice 2
"The media today looks to slant and mislead the public as much as possible.Rat-her than wait for all of the facts before reprting. They do not care who or what they attack. The ethics of our media reporters today are missing."
February 16, 2006, 11:28 AM

Choice 1
"Major head of state is involved in a serious accident. It is only obvious the White House should put out the information so there is no conjecture or misleading statements."
February 16, 2006, 11:01 AM

Choice 1
"The White House has enough problems without looking like they were "hiding" this incident. Bad judgement!"
February 16, 2006, 10:56 AM

Choice 1
"Dick Cheney is in the White House. They must inform the public when V.P shooting a citizen for what ever reason. We all know they tried to cover up but could not."
February 16, 2006, 10:55 AM

Choice 2
"But to make sure the straight story gets out first, notify the Caller-Times before the New York Times!"
February 16, 2006, 10:54 AM

Choice 2
"So What ! Do they need to tell us everytime th e PRES or VP farts ? NO !"
February 16, 2006, 10:45 AM

Choice 2
"They are required to be informed in the minds of the elite media."
February 16, 2006, 10:31 AM

Choice 2
"Who cares! The media is out of control on this little story"
February 16, 2006, 10:27 AM

Choice 2
"That was Vice President Dick Cheney call"
February 16, 2006, 10:26 AM

Choice 2
"It was a hunting accidental only. The media should stay out of it."
February 16, 2006, 10:05 AM

Choice 2
"The media is out of control on this little story."
February 16, 2006, 10:02 AM

Choice 1
"President Cheney runs the show."
February 16, 2006, 9:48 AM

Choice 2
"first response should be the medical assistance that was required for the downed hunter. The press should wait untill enough info could be collected to correctly and accuratly put that information out to the public."
February 16, 2006, 9:45 AM

Choice 2
"Would you rather go quail hunting with Dick Cheney, or go ride in a car with Ted Kennedy? Think aboout it."
February 16, 2006, 9:30 AM

Choice 2
"It was a private incident, did not effect the American people, tragic but who cares"
February 16, 2006, 9:20 AM

Choice 2
"No different that if Jimmy Carter dropped a hammer on a "habitat for Humanity" co-worker."
February 16, 2006, 9:06 AM

Choice 2
"WHO CARES !!! IT WAS A FREAKING ACCIDENT, THE MAN IS ALIVE, WRITE ABOUT THE TROUBLES IN OUR OWN CITY."
February 16, 2006, 8:50 AM

Choice 2
"Who cares!!!"
February 16, 2006, 8:45 AM

Choice 2
"Who cares? How did that change anything anyone did? Lighten up libs"
February 16, 2006, 8:38 AM

Choice 1
"yes, they serve the people (ie: us!) and the people deserve to know shortly after things like this happen!"
February 16, 2006, 8:32 AM

Choice 2
"If it had been anyone else that had been shot,would the media have been notified!!!........NO!"
February 16, 2006, 8:12 AM

Choice 2
"If the information had been made available on Saturday, then media frenzy would have started that day. It would have interfered with the initial investigation. Also, te attempts to contact Mr. Whittington would have begun that day. The"
February 16, 2006, 8:11 AM

Choice 2
"Give it up, media. The media is making too big a deal out of this."
February 16, 2006, 8:06 AM

Choice 2
"It was reported to the local law enforcement and to the local media, your fine operation. National media sources need to learn to do their job, not sit back and expect the news to come to them in DC and New York."
February 16, 2006, 7:48 AM

Choice 2
"That should be left to the family to decide"
February 16, 2006, 7:25 AM

Choice 2
"Feeding frenzy in Sarita by press proves just how irresponsible media can be......"
February 16, 2006, 6:54 AM

Choice 2
"This was a private matter."
February 16, 2006, 6:36 AM

Choice 2
"it should have been the media in corpus christi informing the white house... does nobody in the market working the various desks have ears? the mopvement of HALO should have triggered some curisoity by somebody on the weekend desk at some"
February 16, 2006, 6:12 AM

Choice 1
"yes, this White House is too secretive and is not accountable to the public."
February 16, 2006, 6:09 AM

Choice 2
"CNN/FOX and those in Washington are upset because they were not informed first. Go Caller-Times!"
February 16, 2006, 5:26 AM

Choice 2
"That is a personal matter"
February 16, 2006, 1:10 AM

Choice 1
"14 hours to sober up"
February 16, 2006, 12:55 AM

Choice 1
"there should have been independent verification as to the state of the victim and his assailant on the day in question, not the next morning. I expect the whole party was high on alcohol."
February 16, 2006, 12:54 AM

Choice 2
"CHeney was right, altho everything can be done better in retrospect no?"
February 15, 2006, 11:40 PM

Choice 1
"cheney is incredibly arrogant and should be accountable to the law about what he did."
February 15, 2006, 11:27 PM

Choice 2
"1 day or 2 days later. Who is it hurting? Only someone ready to put down a public figure as usual. Might as well put a camera in his toilet to see if he ate corn."
February 15, 2006, 11:12 PM

Choice 2
"this is ridiculous how the caller times has latched onto this incident that is commonplace in South Texas."
February 15, 2006, 10:28 PM

Choice 2
"with the lack of info at that point,it was pointless to "inform the media" immediately.Besides,they wld have had a further field day with it,w/o proper info.Once good info was known it was released."
February 15, 2006, 9:49 PM

Choice 2
"much ado about nothing . If it had been Gore the NYT et.al. would have said it was the right thing . Chaney was wrong in that he forgot the first VP to shoot a man was aaron burr ."
February 15, 2006, 9:44 PM

Choice 2
"the media would have butchered this"
February 15, 2006, 9:29 PM

Choice 1
"I can see where VP Cheney was occupied with the concern of hid friend, but, yje White House should have taken the initiative and reported the accident."
February 15, 2006, 9:09 PM

Choice 2
"If you shot someone, would you call the NYT?"
February 15, 2006, 8:58 PM

Choice 2
"Cheney called it right. Nobody else,s business anyhow!"
February 15, 2006, 8:56 PM

Choice 2
"Needed ALL info about the incident first."
February 15, 2006, 8:24 PM

Choice 1
"Very poor public relations."
February 15, 2006, 8:13 PM

Choice 1
"When you are VP, and when you shoot someone, there is no privacy."
February 15, 2006, 6:24 PM

Choice 2
"The media have no right to make demands like this. They have really taken freedom of the press too far now."
February 15, 2006, 6:09 PM

Choice 2
"That is a privacy issue. If Mr. Whittington wanted the entire world to know he had been shot his family should release the information, not the Whitehouse."
February 15, 2006, 5:16 PM

Choice 2
"the news media is all wrong on this non-event"
February 15, 2006, 5:11 PM

Choice 1
"so people can gain their trust again; knowing that they do not hold secrets."
February 15, 2006, 5:07 PM

Choice 2
"I feel it was handled in the right way.WAY TO GO CALLER!"
February 15, 2006, 5:02 PM

Choice 1
""and it took Kennedy to how long to report on a drowned woman"?"
February 15, 2006, 4:41 PM

Choice 1
"The connected and privileged ignore their civic responsibility on a regular basis...."
February 15, 2006, 4:40 PM

Choice 2
"Its not like it was an apparent terroristic threat. Come on now, if we immediately responded to any hunting accident how many would that become. Hunting is a very popular way of life, especially here in South Texas. These hunters know"
February 15, 2006, 4:30 PM

Choice 1
"You betcha!!!!"
February 15, 2006, 4:27 PM

Choice 2
"this is amazingly non-news with everything else going on in the world...it was an accident..plain and simple...not a news story."
February 15, 2006, 3:53 PM

Choice 2
"THI S WAS NOT A WHITE HOUSE MATTER. SIMLY A HUNTING ACCIDENT"
February 15, 2006, 3:53 PM

Choice 1
"24 hours is enough time for alcohol not show in your system. Good show Cheney!"
February 15, 2006, 3:50 PM

Choice 2
"Please find new worthy information!"
February 15, 2006, 3:30 PM

Choice 2
"Story would have barely made local news if not been Veep."
February 15, 2006, 3:08 PM

Choice 1
"this administration is very slimy they will try to cover up anything just like the unjust war in iraq"
February 15, 2006, 2:58 PM

Choice 2
"no one was killed, it was a simple accident. This is so ridiculous, let the man have a life"
February 15, 2006, 2:53 PM

Choice 1
"Hell yes. This is a democracy or is it!!"
February 15, 2006, 2:39 PM

Choice 1
"Duh!"
February 15, 2006, 2:35 PM

Choice 2
"Who cares already!"
February 15, 2006, 2:33 PM

Choice 2
"It was a hunting accident on private property."
February 15, 2006, 2:27 PM

Choice 2
"Should the white house have informed the media right after Clinton soiled the blue dress?"
February 15, 2006, 2:23 PM

Choice 1
"if it would of been anyone else...oh boy.."
February 15, 2006, 2:19 PM

Choice 2
"Did Hillary call the newspaper when she had Vincent Foster murdered?"
February 15, 2006, 2:16 PM

Choice 2
"It was a minor hunting ACCIDENT with no serious consequence between 2 private citizens on personal time."
February 15, 2006, 2:04 PM

Choice 1
"The vice president continues to act as if he is above the law."
February 15, 2006, 1:16 PM

Choice 1
"If it was an accident then why wait to inform th media"
February 15, 2006, 1:13 PM

Choice 1
"total liars thinking above the law...polygraph for the ranch owner and cheney"
February 15, 2006, 1:11 PM

Choice 1
"DUH !!!"
February 15, 2006, 1:08 PM

Choice 2
"If it was anyone else would you report??"
February 15, 2006, 1:02 PM

Choice 1
"How can there be any question? The public - in an "open, transparent" democracy (is there another kind?) has a right to know, and a duty to condemn silence and deceit."
February 15, 2006, 12:58 PM

Choice 1
"Cheney shot him just to watch him die."
February 15, 2006, 12:55 PM

Choice 2
"accidents happen everyday, the media would have found out either way its not as if they made it look like he shot himself"
February 15, 2006, 12:54 PM

Choice 2
"The only reason this is a news story is because it concerns an elected official, had it been an ordinary citizen, we may not have heard anything about it at all."
February 15, 2006, 12:49 PM

Choice 1
"This administration is addicted to secrecy."
February 15, 2006, 12:32 PM

Choice 1
"Such a highly elected official should of notified the public. Especially since there was a shooting involved. Such highly elected officials do not have private lives, (as we learned from the Clinton Scandal). That comes with the JOB."
February 15, 2006, 12:16 PM

Choice 2
"Reporters should investigate and dig for stories"
February 15, 2006, 12:15 PM

Choice 2
"It is not the law!!"
February 15, 2006, 12:14 PM

Choice 1
"The media should have been informed by the Sheriff dept--even it was the local Kingsville newspaper. The WH media is more upset that they did not get the story first, but the "podunk" newspaper in South TX. as one commentator put it."
February 15, 2006, 12:10 PM

Choice 2
"This was a hunting accident and a private matter. The liberal press once again is doing everything they can to prosecute Pres Bush and his administration."
February 15, 2006, 12:08 PM

Choice 1
"seems prudent for the WH to have informed the public Saturday night."
February 15, 2006, 12:05 PM

Choice 2
"The liberal media just hates traditional and conservative social views. They would rather watch more homosexual cowboy films while bashing neocons."
February 15, 2006, 11:30 AM

Choice 1
"they only inform the media if its going to make them look good.this is to damging to inform."
February 15, 2006, 11:28 AM

Choice 2
"THey informed whom needed to be informed, I think the media has blown this out of the water....."
February 15, 2006, 11:27 AM

Choice 2
"It was a hunting accident. Such things happen all the time. But now we are forced to listen to liberal Bush-haters in the media again. Will their HATE ever end?!?"
February 15, 2006, 11:24 AM

Choice 2
"THERE ARE MORE THINGS WE SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT THAN THE WHAT HAPPENED ON HIS VACATION AND HUNTING OUR SOILDER ARE BEING KILLED AND HE IS HUNTING."
February 15, 2006, 11:18 AM

Choice 1
"Why Cheney and Bush are above the law."
February 15, 2006, 11:06 AM

Choice 2
"All the media hype over this is just plain STUPID"
February 15, 2006, 11:01 AM

Choice 2
"I feel that the Press Corp has fueled this issue. If they would have been informed the moment it happened we would not still be hearing about it today. We would be hearing about some other media fueled frenzy. And to all of