When Jon Stewart gets a cold, the world sneezes

I mentioned it in passing on Monday--the idea that the Gonzales resignation followed the usual calendar strategy of the Bush administration: Start it on Friday, and get as much of it over with as possible during the weekend news cycle.

It was a slight variation on the basic gambit, since the leak was on Friday but the resignation itself came up on very short notice the following Monday morning. But I think the Friday Rule still applies.

And of course, Andy Card first explained the First Rule of Bush Propaganda several years ago:

"From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August."

White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card in 2003, explaining why "Project Stampede America Into Iraq War II" was introduced in September.

So: A Friday in August as the day--one of only five days out of 365--on which to leak the resignation story on Gonzales. There's no more precise calculation than that, is there?

Is there?

Maybe. Because, of all the Fridays in all the Augusts in all the world, they picked this one:

So, was Gonzales’ resignation yesterday specifically timed to happen just as the Daily Show started a two week hiatus? Inquiring (and very disappointed) minds would like to know. Not even to mention the revelations about Larry Craig’s bathroom misdemeanours. It’s very suspicious that the court judgment should have been handed down on August 8 – but that Roll Call should only have published the details yesterday. I seem to recall that the last time the Daily Show went on holiday, there was a similar outbreak of political scandals (the Libby case judgement etc).

Behold the power of "The Daily Show."