I love the media. They always seem to take a relatively simple story and blow it completely out of proportion. It happens all the time. Most recently, Vice-President Dick Cheney’s terrible hunting accident in which he shot his friend and hunting partner, 78-year-old lawyer Harry Whittington, in the face, neck and chest with birdshot.

According to Katharine Armstrong, one of the owners of the ranch on which Cheney and Whittington were hunting quail, Whittington shot at a quail and went to go look for it while Cheney went on looking for more quail. In Armstrong’s own words, Whittington “came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn't signal them or indicate to them or announce himself.”

She then went on to tell the Associated Press, “The vice-president didn't see him. The covey flushed and the vice president picked out a bird and was following it and shot. And, by God, Harry was in the line of fire and got peppered pretty good.”

Armstrong admits that Whittington was a little shaken up, but he was not badly hurt. Luckily for him, Cheney’s medical team was able to tend to him immediately. The vice-president always travels with his medical team because of his history of heart attacks. After he was stabilized, Whittington was airlifted to a local hospital where he underwent further treatment.

This should have been the end of the story, but the media had different plans. They were upset, and rightfully so, that information about the accident was not made available to them until the day after it happened. However, the information was not completely classified. A local newspaper in Corpus Christi, Texas, ran a story about the accident on their Web site Saturday. After being contacted by the media, the White House confirmed the story.

Then the media frenzy began. I personally think the White House press corps felt a little slighted knowing that they were not the first ones to break the news. Most notably, and verbally, I might add, was NBC chief White House correspondent David Gregory who aggressively questioned and, at one point, yelled at White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan before a scheduled press conference. He was more than a little upset when, while Gregory was asking questions about the incident, McClellan made a somewhat insulting comment toward him that implied he poses for the camera whenever he asks questions.

These guys are usually the first ones to report on any news coming from the White House, and one has to imagine they must have felt irritated, to say the least, being scooped by a local newspaper on what has become a top story across the nation.

But I digress.

The real issue here is how the media has blown this story out of the stratosphere. Since the story broke only three days ago, I have read numerous news stories and columns and heard the ramblings of countless pundits speculating on everything from whether or not Cheney was drunk at the time of the shooting to whether Cheney was upset with Whittington at the time. One of the newest stories is Cheney did not have the $7 stamp to shoot game birds on his hunting license when the accident occurred, which lead to a citation but no fine.

This story has already been lampooned almost to death by the likes of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien and every other late night talk show host in the nation, and it has only been a week. The media are having a field day with this story, and it is only the beginning.

The latest development in the story is Whittington had a silent heart attack Tuesday, caused by arterial blockage from one of the birdshot pellets. The heart attack was more of an irregular heartbeat than an actual heart attack. Doctors seem to think he is still in no real danger and will make a full recovery.

Still, the stories persist.

Since Cheney has been in office he has not be perceived as a nice, amicable man. He is often portrayed as an evil, clandestine, money hungry politician by the media. Whether or not he actually is is a matter of opinion, but this story has done nothing to help his poor public image.

While I will grant the Cheney should have been more forthcoming in the way he handled the situation, I ask myself what I would do if I were in his place. What would my first reaction be after I accidentally shot a friend on a hunting trip? Would I, like Cheney, make sure he received the medical treatment he needed and do everything in my power to assure his safety and comfort? Of course I would. Would my next thought be to hold a press conference outlining the tragedy that just took place? Probably not.

Think about what happens after a tragic accident, which, from my understanding, is exactly what this is. If a friend of yours were accidentally shot, how clear would your mind be? I do not think it would very clear at all.

Everyone makes mistakes. I know we always want our celebrities and politicians to be perfect, but that is not real life. Cheney made a mistake in not immediately telling the media what had happened. But consider yourselves: are you always quick to admit your mistakes and accidents to everyone? I think Cheney deserves a break. Sure, he made a mistake, but he accidentally shot a friend of his. I am sure he feels bad enough about it without all the media hoopla. Accidents happen, and I think it is time we moved on with our lives. Let the story die, because if you do not, the media never will.