Dick's Joke

Christopher Beam — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:59:00 GMT

Dick Cheney has a knack for almost killing people. No matter what his other accomplishments, history will remember him as the first vice president since Aaron Burr to shoot another man while in office.

But now Cheney has outdone himself. Speaking about his family heritage at the National Press Club yesterday, Cheney made a joke about incest, quipping: “I had Cheneys on both sides of the family—and we don't even live in West Virginia.” Several West Virginia officials went ballistic, including 90-year-old Sen. Robert Byrd, who criticized the vice president’s “contempt and astounding ignorance toward his own countrymen.”

Later that day, Byrd was hospitalized.

Far be it from us to speculate as to whether Byrd’s ill health was a direct result of Cheney’s insult. All we know, per the Post, is that Byrd was suffering from lethargy and sluggishness and was found to have a fever—all common side effects of having one’s home state ridiculed.

Update 1:48 p.m.: We've got video! Click here to watch Cheney dis West Virginia.

Trailhead : Dick Cheney

Dick's Joke