Friday, October 03, 2008

It's been bugging me all day...

I know that everybody and their twin has already blogged about the debate. No doubt this has already been mentioned elsewhere. But something has nagged at me ever since Joe Biden had his little scolding screed about Dick Cheney being the most dangerous Vice President ever:

While he Vice President of the US, Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.

Afterward, he went home without a moment's thought. He showed up a few days later in Washington DC to preside over the Senate, as if NOTHING HAPPENED. He spent much of the next several years unable to visit New York or New Jersey without being arrested, tried, and hanged for murder. What's more, there's evidence he may possibly have made plans to steal or outright conquer part of the Louisiana Purchase in order to be the King of something, rather than the complete social and political pariah of the United States.

And lest we forget - dude killed a guy in a duel. In fact, killed a guy who by his own account had already determined to waste his shot, in order to bring the duel to a peaceful conclusion. In later years Burr actually brought someone back to the Weehauken cliffside and showed him where Hamilton's shot had gone before Burr had fired back.

I don't care how many hunting accidents he has - Dick Cheney will never approach Aaron Burr's standard.

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