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For TV comics, it's open season

Once it became clear that Austin, Texas, lawyer Harry Whittington would survive getting accidentally shot by Vice President Dick Cheney, the incident became instant fodder for comedians.

Late-night comics couldn't get enough. Here's a sampling:

"Good news, ladies and gentlemen, we have finally located weapons of mass destruction. ... It's Dick Cheney," David Letterman cracked on CBS's Late Show on Monday, adding: "We can't get bin Laden, but we nailed a 78-year-old attorney."

"The guy who got gunned down - he is a Republican lawyer and a big Republican donor, and, fortunately, the buckshot was deflected by wads of laundered cash, so he's fine," Letterman said.

On The Tonight Show, NBC's Jay Leno devoted most of his monologue to the hunting accident, saying: "I think Cheney is starting to lose it. After he shot the guy he screamed, "Anyone else want to call domestic wiretapping illegal?"'

"I guess the guy is going to be okay," Leno said. "When the ambulance got there, out of force of habit they put Cheney on the stretcher. ... Cheney's defense is that he was aiming at a quail when he shot the guy. Which means that Cheney now has the worst aim of anyone in the White House since Bill Clinton.

"Dick Cheney is capitalizing on this for Valentine's Day. It's the new Dick Cheney cologne. It's called Duck!"

On Comedy Central, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart offered a little historical perspective, noting that Whittington was the first person to be shot by a vice president since Alexander Hamilton.

"Hamilton, of course, was shot in a duel with Aaron Burr over issues of honor, integrity and political maneuvering," Stewart said. "Whittington? Mistaken for a bird.

"Now, this story certainly has its humorous aspects," Stewart added. "And it's easy to make fun of an incident like this. Very easy. But it also raises a serious issue, one which I feel very strongly about. ... Moms, dads, if you're watching right now, I can't emphasize enough: Do not let your kids go on hunting trips with the vice president. I don't care what kind of lucrative contracts they're trying to land or energy regulations they're trying to get lifted. It's just not worth it."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Cirque du Soleil's first arena show coming in April

Cirque du Soleil will present Delirium, its first arena show, at the St. Pete Times Forum on April 9 and 10.

The show debuted in Montreal last month and was scheduled to begin a five-month tour Monday in Buffalo, N.Y.

Tickets for the bay area show are $71.25, $91.25 and $111.75, not including service charges, and they go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 20 at the Forum box office and through Ticketmaster at outlets, at www.Ticketmaster.com and by calling 813 287-8844 or (727) 898-2100.

[Last modified February 14, 2006, 12:16:23]