The Friday Dump

Used to be, the president would release bad news late on a Friday, because fewer people are watching the news over the weekend. According to Dana Milbank's column in the Washington Post, the Friday dumps of bad news are losing their effectiveness, because they've become so common everyone expects them.

For News Hounds, TGIF (washingtonpost.com):

Indeed, Friday has become a Bush favorite both for dropping bad news and for making announcements that appeal to the president's conservative base, not necessarily the general public. It was on a Friday, for example, that the administration disclosed its long-awaited decision that it would eliminate requirements that thousands of the nation's dirtiest coal-fired power plants and refineries make anti-pollution improvements as they upgrade facilities. On another Friday, the administration announced new rules giving new rights to fetuses. Yet another Friday brought an announcement virtually ensuring that Republicans would prevail in a dispute over the 2000 census count.

Resignations often see daylight on Fridays. The ouster of Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and of Bush economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey came on a Friday, as did the resignation of Army Secretary Thomas E. White, a former Enron Corp. executive, announced on a Friday.

Speaking of Enron, the Justice Department chose a Friday night for directing administration officials to preserve papers related to Enron. Likewise, the White House selected Friday as the day to oppose a probe of discussions Karl Rove had with companies in which he held stock.

Health scares, too, get Friday treatment. Bush announced on a Friday that he was to have a colon examination and would temporarily transfer power to Vice President Cheney. Cheney, in turn, announced on a Friday that he would undergo heart tests and expected to have a pacemaker-like device implanted in his chest.

One Friday brought word that federal employees would receive a smaller raise than Congress recommended, and another brought news that 61 foreign steel products would be exempt from tariffs Bush had imposed with much fanfare.

And one more thing. At the end of the column, Dana Milbank lists the things the president or his staff have said he isn't. He's not a predictor, not a statistician, and not a lawyer, among others. Am I the only one who thinks of the old Star Treks, "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a (blank)!" I guess it's not an apt comparison, because Bush isn't telling us what he is.