From the ArcaMax Publishing, Weird News Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/weirdnews/s-356979-502746
WASHINGTON (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney joked about
inbreeding in his family Monday and wound up having to apologize to
the people of West Virginia.
Cheney, speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, noted his
distant relationship with Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic
presidential contender from Illinois. He then said he had a
grandmother whose last name was Tyler but was descended from a Cheney.
"So I had Cheneys on both sides of the family, and we don't even live
in West Virginia," the vice president quipped.
While that drew laughs from the crowd, it didn't sit well with West
Virginia leaders, who demanded, and got, an apology, The Charleston
Gazette reported.
"I truly cannot believe that any vice president of the United States,
regardless of their political affiliation, would make such a
derogatory statement about my state or any state, for that matter,"
Gov. Joe Manchin said.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., said Cheney showed "contempt and
astounding ignorance toward his own countrymen."
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., called it "exactly the type of
stereotyping that we don't need from our elected officials."
Cheney's office extended an apology.
"The vice president's offhand comment was not meant to hurt anyone,''
Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride said. "On reflection, he concluded
that it was an inappropriate attempt at humor that he should not have
made. The vice president apologizes to the people of West Virginia for
the inappropriate remark.''