S.A.U.L.

Last year, after Vice President Cheney had become the Waldo of the political world, with pundits frequently trying to figure out where he was, it became clear that in times of emergency our country had - and still has - safe havens for its political leaders. Peter alludes to this tendency to flee from the trouble to come, but offers another plan. 

Two years ago today, we were still counting ballots in Florida, wondering where all the votes were.

A year ago, we were scrambling to stay ahead of Al Qaeda, wondering where the vice president was. The airwaves were full of jokes. Here are three that made the rounds:

Leno: "Everybody is talking about finding bin Laden. How about finding Dick Cheney? Where did he go? What, have we got caves over here now, too? Where did he go? I think his Secret Service code name is 'Waldo.'"

Jay Jaroch: "With the new threats, the Secret Service has taken Dick Cheney to an undisclosed location. Nobody knows where he is, who he's with or what he's doing. The agents call it 'Bill Clinton dreamland.'"

And Leno again: "The White House is sending Vice President Dick Cheney to the Middle East this month. You get the feeling that President Bush's opinion of Cheney has changed since the Enron thing broke? You know, a few weeks ago, all they would say about Cheney is that he was in a safe, undisclosed location....