Waterboarding were dismissed in a memo from Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis who found that Yoo showed "poor judgment" but did not violate ethical standards. Commentators have noted that the memos omitted key relevant precedents, including a Texas precedent under then-Governor George W. Bush when the state convicted and sentenced to prison for 10 years a county sheriff for waterboarding a criminal suspect. Bush did not issue a pardon for the sheriff. Former George W. Bush administration officials Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft have stated since leaving office that they do not consider waterboarding to be torture. At least one
Dick Cheney hunting incident People", a humorous allusion to the self-help classic "How to Win Friends and Influence People". President Obama also joked about the incident in his final White House Correspondents' Association Dinner as President, in 2016, when he thanked his Vice President Joe Biden "for not shooting anybody in the face". For years afterwards, editorial cartoons and comedians continued to crack jokes about the incident. Cheney was criticized for his handling of the matter. According to polls on February 27, 2006, two weeks after the accident, Dick Cheney's approval rating had dropped 5 percentage points to 18%. Dick Cheney hunting incident On