Day: February 15, 2006

By TOM RAUM

At the start of the Bush presidency, Dick Cheney was viewed as the grown-up, the seasoned hand to guide an inexperienced president. Now, he’s the center of controversy.

His accidental shooting of a hunting companion and the administration’s fumbles in getting out the word underscore the secrecy and near independence under which the vice president operates _ and it all sent the White House scrambling on Tuesday to find the right tone when the victim’s condition took a turn for the worse.

By DAVID HAMMER

With a shove from party leaders, Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett abruptly quit a key Senate race in Ohio and further exposed a disconnect between the Democratic establishment and Internet-fueled challengers.

The political novice withdrew under intense pressure from party leaders in Washington, clearing the field for Rep. Sherrod Brown _ a 30-year veteran of Democratic politics with more than $2.5 million in the bank.

Pre-Sept. 11 intelligence conducted by a secret military unit identified terrorist ringleader Mohamed Atta 13 different times, a congressman said Tuesday.

During a Capitol Hill news conference, Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., said the unit _ code-named “Able Danger” _ also identified “a problem” in Yemen two weeks before the attack on the USS Cole. It knew the problem was tied into the port of Aden and involved a U.S. platform, but the ship commander was not made aware of it, Weldon said.

The suicide bombing of the Cole killed 17 sailors on Oct. 12, 2000.