Cheney Advisor Won't Say If "A Beer" Is "Literally One Beer"

[PhilipShore]

Think Progress
Cheney Advisor Won’t Say If “A Beer” Is “Literally One Beer”
February 19, 2006

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/19/literally-one-beer/

Today on Meet the Press, Tim Russert asked Cheney advisor Mary Matalin a reasonable question:

RUSSERT: Was alcohol in any way, shape or form consumed during the afternoon? And should we accept the president’s “a beer” as literally one beer?

Matalin didn’t answer it...

[joemurphy]

To paraphrase Gertrude Stein, for Cheney...

A beer is a beer is a beer.

[The Magistrate]

1. Telling A Police Officer You Had One Beer, Sir

Is taken by the officer as a confession of drunkeness....

[Cronus Protagonist]

21. And most of the time it's true...

[bryant69]

2. that's interesting

Well words have different meanings for the Bush adminsrtration - we've all learned that - so it's porbably best to check.

Bryant
Checki out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[bullimiami]

3. a beer may be a bottle a pitcher or a keg. who knows?

fuggetit. he was drunk on beer, his pills and swiss cheese and he was finally sober enough by morning to talk to the pigs.
notice how he said he had drinks afterward....coincidence?

[BOSSHOG]

4. It depends on what the meaning of "A" is.

The bush wordsmithers can claim accuracy. cheney did have a beer. That does not mean he didn't have several. They just never stop. I saw on another thread where bush says the torture of prisoners is just wrong.

[Hand]

8. Amazing...

We had the same thought simultaneously. Well, ya beat me to it by seconds (see next post). :hi:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

17. If it were my husband

a BEER means a 12-pack or a pitcher.

But I have to say Cheney doesn't look like a beer drinker. I'd say Wild Turkey or something.

[Scout1071]

19. Also depends on what the meaning of "beer" is:

[Hand]

5. Guess it depends on what your definition of "a" is... nt

[BOSSHOG]

10. You must be a freaking genius

There is no other way to put it!

[Road Scholar]

25. I totally agree! nt

[benburch]

6. ALL drunks questioned by police say they had "One Beer"

I base this on twenty years behind the bar of a family-run tavern.

I've heard more people talking of their DUI arrests say they told the cops "One Beer" than you can imagine. I've also talked with the cops who say that they are told that ALL THE TIME.

[Cocoa]

7. the more Matalin spoke, the drunker I thought Cheney was

the spin is so weak. When she brought out the "secret service wouldn't let him hunt drunk" argument, I said to myself, jeez he was even more soused than I thought!

[MindLikeAParachute]

9. The most common thing in response to a DUI question

is to imply you only had two beers. Enough to justify the smell, but not enough to qualify as drunk if true. Unfortunately you were probably pulled over for a reason, and chances are you had way more than 2 beers.

[Fridays Child]

11. She didn't answer. And, then, she tried to say that it was ludicrous to...

...think that the Secret Service would let Cheney loose with a gun, if he were tanked.

A) Nobody credible has suggested that he was tanked.

B) Between "one beer" and "tanked," motor function and judgment can become impaired.

C) It is far more ludicrous to think that the Secret Service--or anyone else, for that matter--could ever tell Dick Cheney what he can and cannot do.

[TexasLawyer]

12. DAMMIT-- He only had ONE!!!

[lisa58]

13. I am not a beer drinker but....

...my husband is - and his reaction is "one beer" is a glass that gets refilled over and over again.

[emdee]

14. Why are they allowed to simply not answer the questions?

Hannity would be SCREAMING "SO YOU AREN'T ANSWERING MY QUESTION - ARE YOU NOT GOING TO ANSWER MY QUESTION. THAT'S IT AMERICA, THEY AREN'T ANSWERING THE QUESTION."

Why is this administration allowed to simply not answer? And, why didn't the police bother to find out?

Their silence should answer even their biggest supporters.

emdee

[dysfunctional press]

26. because the pukes control congress and own the media...

and "we the people" are lazy and complacent and happily uninformed due to our comfortable lifestyles.

[daleo]

I had a friend who got hit by a car, walking across a street

I told him he should think about suing. He wasn't sure if it would be worthwhile, as he had been drinking before being hit.

At first he said it was a beer with supper. As the story developed, it went from one beer to two to three, and finally six beers and several rum and cokes.

When people won't get specific about how much they drank, it usually means they are lying about it.

[oscarguy]

15. Did Cheney say " he had a beer" this is news to me.This is news to me...

and if he did , what does " a beer" mean ? The plot thickens if this is so. Originaly, the story was " there was no alchohol involved". Oh what a tangled web we weave..... Any updates appreciated. ...Oscar

[mac56]

18. Yup.

That's what he told Brit Hume in their little up close and personal interview on Fox this week. "A" beer.

[oscarguy]

29. The story keeps changing. Nothing new. The fact that he is making...

public statements contradicting the original report" no alcohol was involved " means he is worried as others probably know he was drinking. This story has legs as they say. Getting very interesting considering what a self righteous twerp he has always been. ...Oscar

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

20. Yes it's been a patchwork of lies. After the original "no alcohol", both

from the Armstrong woman and certified in the "official report" of the incident, Cheney and Armstrong suddenly started remembering that there had been "a beer" at lunch before the shooting, and, amazingly enough Cheney fixed himself a cocktail AFTER the shooting, when he was at the ranch instead of going to the hospital.

It all makes sense when you consider that the drinking AFTERward was merely to give a cover story for a positive breathalyzer, the old drunk driver's trick.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060215-3.html

Q Was anybody drinking in this party?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: No. You don't hunt with people who drink. That's not a good idea. We had --

Q So he wasn't, and you weren't?

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Correct. We'd taken a break at lunch -- go down under an old -- ancient oak tree there on the place, and have a barbecue. I had a beer at lunch. After lunch we take a break, go back to ranch headquarters. Then we took about an hour-long tour of ranch, with a ranch hand driving the vehicle, looking at game. We didn't go back into the field to hunt quail until about, oh, sometime after 3:00 p.m.

The five of us who were in that party were together all afternoon. Nobody was drinking, nobody was under the influence.

[oscarguy]

32. You answered it all. Let us all see were this story goes from here....

and thank you for your well thought through response.

[Cocoa]

22. he also had a cocktail afterwards

seriously.

[oscarguy]

28. That seems a convenient cover up had the police done their job...

which of course they did not. Ergo, I was not drunk then but I am now, I was so upset and all . And on and on. ...Oscar

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

16. Now the reason for the delay is clear. They knew the fallout from the one

day delay would be bad. But nowhere near as bad as if it were indisputably known that Cheney was drunk when he blew the guy away. So they decided to pay the price in order to be able to keep him in office. Better to look sleazy and suspicious than to have a breathalyzer on the record, or a Sheriff or game warden report saying he smelled and acted drunk.

So far it looks like it will work. They'll lose some more support, but he gets to stay in office.

[stevedeshazer]

23. One Beer

[oscarguy]

24. Induct Cheney now as waterboy in the" Volksgrenadiers". No rifle...

for dead eye Dick. He cannot be trusted with one. He should be a designated WATERBOY to prevent any further mishaps to his fellow comrades. No offense intended Gunga Din. ...Oscar

[bbinacan]

27. One beer could have

been a 40. (As in 40 oz.):beer:

[marions ghost]

30. so she wouldnt answer a direct question...

but twice Matalin said, re. Cheney

1.."he is known not to be a drinker..."

2.."we all know he doesn't drink..."

I think those lines might be interpreted as (if he is a true alcoholic)... "We all know he's not SUPPOSED to drink..."

She was working hard to get those predigested sound bites across.

[Mr_Spock]

31. "A beer" from a two-time DUI loser is "six beers"

Trust me on this one.

[oscarguy]

34. Come in Mr.Spock. Beam me up now if possible. Situation on Planet...

Sol 3 increasingly untenable. Suggest Federation over-ride prime direcective and intervene as soon as posssible. Insane idiots have control of entire planet except for some weak and ineffectual groups. This is an emergency situation. The entire population of 6.5 billion peoples lives are at stake. Please HELP, OVER ! ...Oscar

[DemoTex]

33. Cheney had a beer to wash down the BBQ brisket.

But he probably had Champagne Mimosas or Vodka Bloody Mary's for breakfast. Before the BBQ lunch was served, there was probably an open bar. Usually is with the Texas rich. Depending on his tastes, Cheney probably had cocktails there too. More BMs, Margaritas, or just vodka on the rocks. Like many alcoholics I know, he thought that by limiting himself to one beer to wash down lunch, he was showing restraint. He was, IMHO, drunk-as-a-lord at the time of the shooting. But he did, probably, have only one beer. Probably. I'll hang my hat on it.

Max nix (matters not), as we used to say in the war Cheney avoided. I covered an aviation safety seminar in Long Beach a few years ago where I heard an FAA aeromedical specialist said that alcohol at lunch was indicative of alcoholism (no matter what bon fete was used to justify the drinking). Alcohol at breakfast (whatever time that first meal is) or a DUI at 9 am (from the night before) is a leading indicator, according to that doc. Well, DUH!

[DemoTex]

35. Kick from the night B-4

:kick:

[DemoTex]

36. Another shameless kick.

Cheney was drunk. Period. Not a "funny drunk" either. Not when you almost blow a guy's head off. Eh, Mr. Bill?

[Generator]

37. Pu lease! Cheney shooting a guy in the face while drunk is so

last week. We have another scandal that outs the admin for not giving a shit about our national security. I can hardly wait until NEXT week.