Reid spoke at the White House, following a meeting with President Bush, Cheney and congressional leaders. Reid noted that Cheney's last press conference was in 2002.
The shooting incident has dominated national headlines and liberal media outlets since Sunday when the news broke -- a day after the shooting happened.
The White House press corps is furious about the way the White House and the Vice President's office have handled the story.
Reid's comments on Wednesday suggest that Democrats are eager to keep the media focus on Cheney.
Reid has infuriated rank-and-file members of his own party by forcing Ohio Democrat Paul Hackett to drop out of the U.S. Senate race -- to pave the way for Democrat Rep. Sherrod Brown to run against Republican Mike DeWine (see earlier story).
Judging by the comments posted on left-leaning blogs, many rank-and-file Democrats are furious over the way the Democratic leadership -- specifically, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid -- dumped Hackett, an Iraq war veteran and outspoken critic of the Bush administration.
'About Paul Hackett'
On Tuesday, around noontime, hours after news broke about Hackett's departure from the race, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean posted a comment on the DNC blog, "Kicking Ass."
It read as follows:
Iraq veteran Paul Hackett left the race for U.S. Senate in Ohio today. In his campaigns, Paul had the courage to stand up and speak out for what he believes in. That is how Democrats will win elections and take this country back for the people who built it. Our country and our party are better off when people like Paul step up and run for office, up and down the ballot, in every election. I also want you to know that it is the policy of the Democratic National Committee not to intervene in contested primaries. We need more people running for office at every level, gaining experience and bringing new voices into our party. I want to thank Paul Hackett for inspiring so many people to be part of the political process, including many of the "Fighting Dems" running for office across the country. Keep up the fight,
Howard
Reacting to Howard Dean's statement, one Democrat blogger said at the very least, Dean should "chew out" the senators who forced Hackett to drop out of the race.
"I thought our goal was to win and now they screw it all up. This is ridiculous. Why can't our party get it together. We will never win majority or presidency again," the blogger wrote.
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