Loose Cannon

From "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno": "That's the big story over the weekend. . . . Dick Cheney accidentally shot a fellow hunter, a 78-year-old lawyer. In fact, when people found out he shot a lawyer, his popularity is now at 92 percent. . . .

"I think Cheney is starting to lose it. After he shot the guy he screamed, 'Anyone else want to call domestic wire tapping illegal?' "

And from "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart": "Now, this story certainly has its humorous aspects. . . . 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 this 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."

Salon's War Room transcribes Stewart's dialogue with "correspondent" Rob Corddry on the Daily Show:

"Stewart: Rob, obviously a very unfortunate situation. How is the vice president handling it?

"Corddry: Jon, tonight the vice president is standing by his decision to shoot Harry Whittington. According to the best intelligence available, there were quail hidden in the brush. Everyone believed at the time there were quail in the brush. And while the quail turned out to be a 78-year-old man, even knowing that today, Mr. Cheney insists he still would have shot Mr. Whittington in the face. He believes the world is a better place for his spreading buckshot throughout the entire region of Mr. Whittington's face.

"Stewart: But why, Rob? If he had known Mr. Whittington was not a bird, why would he still have shot him?

"Corddry: Jon, in a post-9/11 world, the American people expect their leaders to be decisive. To not have shot his friend in the face would have sent a message to the quail that America is weak.

"Stewart: That's horrible.

"Corddry: Look, the mere fact that we're even talking about how the vice president drives up with his rich friends in cars to shoot farm-raised wingless quail-tards is letting the quail know 'how' we're hunting them. I'm sure right now those birds are laughing at us in that little 'covey' of theirs."

Matea Gold in the Los Angeles Times and Brooks Barnes also offer humor wrapups.

Diane Sawyer offered ABC views a video pastiche of the late-night humor at Cheney's expense. Here's a video of the Daily Show.