I agree. The 18 hour media delay is nothing much. Rove handles politics, media, the public face of the government. Cheney administers the government. As a public matter it was Rove's balliwick. But I can't see Cheney meekly letting Rove tell him what to do and say. Probably took them awhile to negotiate on how they were going to handle it.

Cheney was engaged in a very private social occation, staying at a ranch with some friends and shooting quail. Cheney got careless and shot his friend and hunting partner. It's a personal tragedy. And would remain a private matter for most people.

Probably wouldn't have been such a big story if Cheney wasn't so unpopular. (He's real low in the polls.) And he lives such a private life that the media jumped all over a little rip in the curtain.

But it was just a hunting accident. He does the bad stuff during regular working hours.