Sympathy for the Devil

But what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game Mick Jagger

Q And you -- and I take it, you missed the bird.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I have no idea. I mean, you focused on the bird, but as soon as I fired and saw Harry there, everything else went out of my mind. I don't know whether the bird went down, or didn't. Interview

I feel for the Veep. I really do. Let me tell you why.

After reading his interview and considering all that I've read about the incident, I think the Veep had one too many beers at lunch, lost a bit of control and shot his friend. How many is too many? Too many is the amount that leads you to lose control and shoot your friend. Perhaps at his age, and with his medical history and current medications, one beer is too many to maintain the control necessary to handle a gun. What clues led me to conclude he had lost control? He didn't see his friend before he shot and he doesn't know if he shot the bird. If you've hunted before you will know what I mean.

To me, this is between him and his friend. If his friend is alive and cool with it, and he appears to be, then case closed. Who knows, maybe a few years back, Dick and Harry went fishing, Harry had a few too many and caught Dick in the face with a lure, thus the perpetual sneer. These things happen. I've had a few too many beers and put my friends in danger before and my friends have had a few too many beers and put me in danger before. It's between us. We don't see any reason to get the state involved.

I'm not arguing I'd hunt quail with the Veep, or that I think it wise to drink beer and shoot guns. I wouldn't and I don't. It just seems to me that one aspect of freedom is the freedom to be stupid without getting thrown in jail, assuming you can reconcile with those hurt by your stupidity. Just because I disagree with the man is no reason, in my view, to throw away my principles.

To err is human.