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According to Cheney, Katharine Armstrong suggested--and he agreed--that she be the one to make the incident public. Cheney was traveling without a press aide, and anyway, the thinking was, she had witnessed the shooting. Armstrong is also a well-connected G.O.P. lobbyist, and she doubtless wanted to help shape the story.

Can you imagine how this would have played had Cheney made the announcement?

"In an unusual move, Cheney made the announcement. "He was just trying to get the first story out himself," said a democrat college professor who has nothing to do with the shooting. "This is classic spin--who's going to dispute what the vice president says? Why didn't the witness give out the story first, instead of the shooter? Do we allow criminals to report their crimes first?"