Two days after Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge held a press conference to raise the terror level for financial centers in New York, New Jersey, and Washington, DC, The Washington Post praised Ridge, in an August 3 editorial, for keeping politics out of the announcement.

From an editorial in the August 3 edition of The Washington Post:

In his statement, Mr. Ridge stayed away from politics, although he did, as in the past, find it necessary to attach a list of his homeland security achievements along with the warning, which did reduce its impact. The administration's decision to brief the Democratic presidential contender, Sen. John Kerry, probably helped dampen partisan feelings. Both sides should remember that everyone who lives and works in Washington, New York and Newark will benefit from these warnings only if everyone involved bends over backward to depoliticize this issue in a political season.

But Ridge's announcement was not quite the nonpartisan achievement the Post gave him credit for; on August 1, Ridge slipped in an election-year reminder near the end of his prepared statement:

RIDGE: But we must understand that the kind of information available to us today is the result of the president's leadership in the war against terror, the reports that have led to this alert are the result of offensive intelligence and military operations overseas, as well as strong partnerships with our allies around the world, such as Pakistan.