Cowing does have the right to change his mind, but I see no evidence of him changing his mind. Now, perhaps he has changed his mind in some regard (I can't read his mind), but his stance in regard to Rick Tumlinson and SFF has been fairly consistent. I believe Cowing's point is by drawing a connection between sub-orbital tourism and the Shuttle, Tumlinson's press release is adding confusion to the issue. What we need for sub-orbital transporation is the govt (not neccessarily NASA) to make clear rules and to lower the regulatory burden. We don't need NASA funding sub-orbital vehicle develepment- in fact, that could threaten private development.
I believe Cowing's main point was the release was poorly written- meaning it was incoherent- it's possible, Tumlinson gave a good speech, but it wasn't reflected in the release.