Dick Cheney will go down in history. Although probably not the way he wanted to.
He becomes only the second Vice President to shoot somebody after being elected to office.
The first, Aaron Burr, famously shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel after Hamilton blocked him from becoming President.
Ironically, a Newsweek article compared Cheney to Burr a little less than two years ago:
There's a reason why Burr remains such a hated figure. Just look at the reprobate's resume: 1776: George Washington hates him so much that he banishes him from his staff. 1800: He runs as Thomas Jefferson's vice president, but then tries to get the House of Representatives to make him president when the two of them tie the electoral vote (not even Joe Lieberman would have done that). 1804: He shoots Hamilton. 1807: He conspires to break off a chunk of the Louisiana Purchase and declare himself the ruler. 1865: He kills Abraham Lincoln. 1939: He invades Poland. 1972: He breaks into Democratic Party headquarters and then covers it up. 2004: He pulls aside a senator from Vermont and tells him, "Go f—- yourself." See? This is a bad man.Of course, Cheney shot his hunting pal by accident. Or so the story goes. Still, the Cheney staff didn't think the Vice President shooting somebody was "news" until the next morning.
White House Formula For News:
Possibly thwarting a terrorist plot two years ago = NEWS
The Vice-President shoots somebody = Eh.
What will happen to Cheney?
Burr became an outcast from society after shooting Hamilton. He even tried to create an independent nation with himself as President somewhere out in the Louisiana purchase. He became one of the great villains of American history.
Well, Cheney's got that last one covered.
UPDATE: Ha Ha! I Shot Somebody! White House Laughs it up as Cheney Victim has heart attack.