Yesterday, vice president Dick Cheney came out from his underground lair and threw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals's home opener. As the video above shows, he was booed rather lustily. This could be because the crowd was mostly Democratic, or because Cheney's just not very popular, or because last year the Nationals got President Bush and this year they got the second guy. Personally, we think it's because the crowd just really liked birds.

Dick Cheney Thankfully Didn't Shoot Anyone [The Sports Pulse]

(UPDATE: A nice rundown of the day at RFK can be found at Wonkette.)

OK, we're no art critic — but we know what we like. [Democratic Underground]

It was inevitable — Cheney as Johnny Cash. Photo, song, the works. (Caution: "F" word throughout. Turn down the sound if you're at work). [The Huffington Post]

OK, it's no Harry Potter. Nonetheless, we went to Barnes & Noble to pick one up, and they were sold out. [Bartcop]

"Be vewy quiet." [Daily Kos]

They're already calling it the funniest TV segment ever. We have to admit, we've already watched it about 11 times. [The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, via Brad Blog]

Leave it to the San Francisco Chronicle to dig up the real story. [SFGate]

And just as a change of pace, here's a photo of another high-strung, "princessy" performer besides Johnny Weir who did not medal this week. [SI.com]

What a lot of people are objecting to, however, is not so much the fact that Cheney mistook an attorney in an orange vest for a small game bird. It's that the incident occurred during a stock hunt — in other words, Cheney was stalking quail that had been raised in captivity and released from a net moments before the hunting party came upon them. Or, as Ed Helms of The Daily Show described it:

Cheney slowly approaches in his SUV, gets out, and trains his 28-gauge shotgun on the slow-moving birds which are three feet away — and then, the hunt is on. These are pen-raised, witless quail with no wings; quite a challenge for the Vice President.

That, say many, is bad form, and perhaps even a metaphor for previous actions of the administration. (If you're into the whole "politics" thing.) And it gives us an excuse, as suggested by a commenter, to run a picture from "Duck Hunt."

Oh, by the way, just because we've decided to ruin your work day, here's where you can play "Duck Hunt" all day. Look out for lawyers, and enjoy the ride.

Cheney's Shot a Real Metaphor [Real History Blog]
Ready, Fire, Aim! [The Daily Show With Jon Stewart]
Top Ten Dick Cheney Excuses [Late Show With David Letterman]
Official Texas Fish and Wildlife Hunting Accident and Incident Report [The Smoking Gun]
Duck Hunt [Flash Games]