Thunderdog,
It's more like if you're standing in a tornado and the wind picks up by 5mph, you're still in a tornado, it's not like the situation worsened that much more.
The political situation in Pakistan has been abysmal for 30+ years. It's filled with political assassinations and military coups. Obviously today's events are tragic and bad, but from a historical perspective, it's not that far off from the road they have been on for quite some time.
Also, contrary to the impression that the US media is playing currently, Bhutto was never the progressive savior that is being described. She never fulfilled those expectations when she was in power previously.