Missing the Real Story

For all the breathless reporting and hoopla by the big media about Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting of hunting partner Harry Whittington, they've missed the real story. Bigtime.

Not the heart attack suffered today by Whittington, or the failure to provide news to the White House reporters as quickly as those reporters wanted it.

No. The real story is this:

Due to a lack of communication the personnel manning the front gate upon Kenedy County officer's arrival did not have any information and were unaware of the incident. Shreiff Salinas was informed shortly after the incident by Secret Service Agents by phone due to incompatibility of radio equipment.

In more than four years after 9/11, making sure that emergency responders are able to communicate with each other under all kinds of situations still isn't the priority. The problems haven't been resolved, and it's still putting people at risk.

It's inexcusable that the various law enforcement agencies and Secret Service were unable to communicate directly with their radios and had to rely on a phone instead. How much time was delayed - and more to the point - had the situation been life threatening, the delay could have been deadly.