What a Difference a Day -- and an Assassination Attempt -- Makes (AM)

One sobering result of the Taliban's attempt to murder Vice President Cheney in Afghanistan is that the New York Times has tamped down — at least for a day — its standard caricature of the dark, secretive Veep. 

Compare the following. This is from yesterday's pre-bombing coverage of Cheney's Pakistan trip:

The vice president’s office asked news organizations that knew of Mr. Cheney’s upcoming trip, and the small number of reporters traveling with him, to withhold any mention of his travels until after he had left the country. That request went far beyond the usual precautions as American officials travel into and out of Pakistan....  It was unclear if the request reflected Mr. Cheney’s well-known penchant for secrecy — he said nothing in public during his visit — or an increasing unease by the Secret Service about how freely Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives are moving in Pakistan. There have long been doubts about the loyalties of some members of Mr. Musharaff’s intelligence service, and assassination attempts against him have been linked to Al Qaeda.

Now, here's today's post-bombing coverage of Cheney in Afghanistan:

Mr. Cheney’s trip to the region had been shrouded in unusual secrecy. News organizations that were aware of Mr. Cheney’s travels were asked to withhold any mention of the trip until he had left Pakistan. This appeared to reflect growing concern about the strength of Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the region, and continuing questions about the loyalties of the intelligence services of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

ME:  Whaddya know, no mention today of Cheney's "well-known penchant for secrecy." Apparently even the Times now grasps that the Veep had pretty good reasons to be discrete. Maybe Cheney's not nuts!  Maybe the Taliban and al Qaeda really do want us dead after all. Who knows — maybe tomorrow the Gray Lady will even acknowledge that the Patriot Act and the NSA program are not sinister power grabs but modest, sensible precautions against people who are hellbent on killing us.  Naaaaaaahhhhh.