lily
06-03-2008, 02:36 AM
Open mouth, insert foot. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24939201/)
Cheney apologizes after West Virginia joke
His comment at the National Press Club draws rebuke from Capitol Hill
updated 41 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney threw a verbal insult at West
Virginians on Monday, but quickly apologized.
Talking about his family roots and how he's distantly related to Democratic
presidential candidate Barack Obama, the vice president noted that he had
Cheneys on both sides of his family.
"And we don't even live in West Virginia," Cheney quipped.
"You can say those things when you're not running for re-election."
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, quickly asked Cheney to
apologize.
"I truly cannot believe that any vice president of the United States,
regardless of their political affiliation, would make such a derogatory
statement about my state or any state for that matter," he said.
Cheney's comment denounced
On Capitol Hill, Cheney's comment was denounced by both Democrats and
Republicans.
"This is exactly the type of stereotyping that we don't need from our
elected officials," said Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. "It's
disrespectful, and it's certainly not funny. ... As a proud state, I can say
we are disappointed."
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., blasted Cheney, saying that for a vice president
to openly display "such contempt and astounding ignorance toward his own
countrymen" was an insult to all Americans.
"Now that he or the administration he represents no longer needs their vote,
Mr. Cheney apparently feels that he is now free to mock and belittle the
people of West Virginia," Byrd said.
"The vice president's offhand comment was not meant to hurt anyone," Cheney
spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said later Monday. "On reflection, he concluded
that it was an inappropriate attempt at humor that he should not have made.
The vice president apologizes to the people of West Virginia for the
inappropriate remark."
In a question-and-answer session after giving a speech at the National Press
Club, Cheney said also joked that he wouldn't object to a family reunion
with Obama, but said he didn't think the candidate would be up for one — "at
least not before November."
"He'd probably be fearful I might whisper in his ear and change his whole
view of the Middle East," Cheney said.
He said that when his wife, Lynne, was doing research on a book, she
discovered that his grandmother was descended from a man named Richard
Cheney. "So I had Cheneys on both sides of the family," he said.
Cheney apologizes after West Virginia joke
His comment at the National Press Club draws rebuke from Capitol Hill
updated 41 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney threw a verbal insult at West
Virginians on Monday, but quickly apologized.
Talking about his family roots and how he's distantly related to Democratic
presidential candidate Barack Obama, the vice president noted that he had
Cheneys on both sides of his family.
"And we don't even live in West Virginia," Cheney quipped.
"You can say those things when you're not running for re-election."
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, a Democrat, quickly asked Cheney to
apologize.
"I truly cannot believe that any vice president of the United States,
regardless of their political affiliation, would make such a derogatory
statement about my state or any state for that matter," he said.
Cheney's comment denounced
On Capitol Hill, Cheney's comment was denounced by both Democrats and
Republicans.
"This is exactly the type of stereotyping that we don't need from our
elected officials," said Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. "It's
disrespectful, and it's certainly not funny. ... As a proud state, I can say
we are disappointed."
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., blasted Cheney, saying that for a vice president
to openly display "such contempt and astounding ignorance toward his own
countrymen" was an insult to all Americans.
"Now that he or the administration he represents no longer needs their vote,
Mr. Cheney apparently feels that he is now free to mock and belittle the
people of West Virginia," Byrd said.
"The vice president's offhand comment was not meant to hurt anyone," Cheney
spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said later Monday. "On reflection, he concluded
that it was an inappropriate attempt at humor that he should not have made.
The vice president apologizes to the people of West Virginia for the
inappropriate remark."
In a question-and-answer session after giving a speech at the National Press
Club, Cheney said also joked that he wouldn't object to a family reunion
with Obama, but said he didn't think the candidate would be up for one — "at
least not before November."
"He'd probably be fearful I might whisper in his ear and change his whole
view of the Middle East," Cheney said.
He said that when his wife, Lynne, was doing research on a book, she
discovered that his grandmother was descended from a man named Richard
Cheney. "So I had Cheneys on both sides of the family," he said.