Obama's Friday Afternoon News Dump

As good politicians know, any embarrassing news is best released late on Friday afternoon. Why? The common folk have just finished another week of hard word. They're looking for a few beers at the local tavern or thinking about the weekend. On Saturday, the newspaper is more likely to go straight to the bird cage rather than be read at leisure over a cup of morning coffee. By Monday morning, Friday's news turns into a focus on the coming week's events. People who study the Friday dump can learn a lot. It's akin to rummaging through a trash can: messy, but revealing.

The Obama administration has made wise use of the Friday news dump in its first hundred days. Here are four examples of the following announcements came on trash day:

1. President Obama lifted the federal funding ban on foreign family planning organizations that promoted or provided information on abortion;

2. The administration issued an encouraging study on the positive effects of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. The program allowed students to escape the wasteland known as District of Columbia Public Schools. Democrats - teacher's unions - opposed this program and funding was eliminated. This is an example where good news had to be ignored.

3. Several financial disclosure reports were released, including one on Larry Summers, Director of the President's National Economic Council. One of those disclosures showed that Summers earned $7.7 million by working at a hedge fund and speaking to bank executives. The hedge fund and many of the banks were bailed out by taxpayers.

4. The administration announced they may return to the Bush policy of using military commissions to prosecute those held at Guantanamo. During the campaign, the Bush policy was viciously attacked for its civil rights "violations" and "political expediency."

Every administration has its own personality, and these four pieces of information tell us much about what information is perceived as a source of embarrassment, fear, controversy, and danger. I think most readers would agree that, so far, this White House has maintained a tight grip on information. The transparency promised in the campaign has yet to appear. Until there is more openness, the Friday afternoon news dump will be a critical instrument for assessing the overall health of the Obama White House. Long after the new crew settles in, the dump will still be interesting, if not valuable. Even when the pickings are slim, you never know what you may find in the trash. Especially when it's generated by 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.