I'm not impressed with how it was handled but I'm not ready to buy into any conspiracy theory. I do think that time was taken to try to figure out the best way to minimize the story and that this time lapse actually had the opposite effect. For one thing, the reasons that the White House gave for delaying the release of the information was that their first concern was that the man who was shot was getting the proper medical attention. Considering the fact that there was an ambulance and medical team on site, I'm not sure how I see that this was a concern for 24 hours. Hell, within a few hours, the guy was resting in a hospital bed. Still, I view this incident as nothing more than an accident, one that Cheney and the man he shot are probably both responsible for. Yes, the man should have announced himself but Cheney also should have been more aware that there was someone in his party that was unaccounted for. Still, it was an accident that I'm sure Cheney does feel a great deal of remorse for.
I agree with Prudence that this would have been a great opportunity to educate people on the importance of gun safety. Instead, nobody is saying a word. That's their perogative but I think there could have been some positive to come out of a situation like this and the opportunity was missed.
Incidentally, the man Cheney shot
had a heart attack today. I would imagine that this story isn't going away for a while.