Harry Whittington, the man who former Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot while they were hunting quail on a Texas ranch 17 years ago, has died
The accident also spawned countless jokes. Jay Leno, then-host of “The Tonight Show” on NBC, quipped that Cheney would be capitalizing on the accident for the upcoming Valentine’s Day with a new cologne named “Duck.” Billionaire Bill Gates greeted his audience at a conference by saying,"I’m really glad to be here. My other invitation was to go quail hunting with Dick Cheney.”
Cheney said the accident happened after Whittington had stepped out of the hunting party to get a downed bird in deep cover. Cheney said Whittington was dressed properly in orange and the upper part of his body was visible, but that he was standing in a gully with the sun behind him.“You can’t blame anybody else,” Cheney said. “I’m the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend.”
Whittington was a longtime player in Texas politics. In 1961, he worked on John Tower’s campaign for the U.S. Senate and later helped a young Bush run for Congress, a race he lost. He was also a go-to guy for governors trying to clean up troubled state agencies and spent decades serving on state boards.
Whittington became an advocate for change in a prison system that lacked basic medical care and where people serving time were subjected to beatings by other inmates. He was also an advocate of the rights of inmates who have mental disabilities.
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