WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld took in a private screening of “Brokeback Mountain” at a Washington D.C. multiplex Sunday night and, according to a highly agitated Mrs. Cheney, were “visibly moved.”
The film, directed by Ang Lee, is a critically acclaimed tale of two cowboys who fall in love set against the backdrop of the American West. “Many times during the movie I looked at Dick and he was nodding his head,” said Mrs. Cheney.
“Several times I saw Secretary Rumsfeld reach over and pat his hand. I’m not sure what that was all about.” According to ushers sweeping the theater, Cheney and Rumsfeld were still huddled in their seats at least ten minutes after the house lights were raised after the credits finished. Vice President Cheney appeared to be crying. Leaving the theater, a red-eyed Cheney refused comment but walked directly to his limousine with Secretary Rumsfeld. The two men embraced before Cheney entered the car and returned home, presumably with his wife. When a reporter asked Rumsfeld how he enjoyed the movie, he smiled and said “I’ve lived it.” Asked about the propriety of men engaging in acts that some people find morally objectionable, Rumsfeld paused. “Stuff happens,” he said. “Free people should be free to make mistakes.”
