The longer the White House lingers, the bigger the story gets.
The White House staff can defuse the controversy over its potential role in determining the course of the 2010 Decennial Census right now and very easily by announcing that the president has no intention of trying to determine the methodology for the Census or of trying to change the plans already underway for conducting what is truly a vast government exercise. Move fast, that's the usual public relations advice. The reason for reticence is that the West Wingers are preoccupied by the economy, I guess.
Either that, or they really think they can redevelop the statistical methodology for the Decennial Census from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and run the show out of Rahm Emanuel's office. If so, a credibility issue looms ahead. (Notice the tone of understatement.)
Meanwhile, the buzz grows. My earlier blogs on the topic have been picked up or referenced (I'm told) by a couple of hundred smaller blogs and a number of large ones. I was interviewed on Fox News this morning and asked back for a feature program. There have been about ten radio interviews yesterday and today and more are being requested. Here's a Fox News story that just came in.
Usually, our Discovery staffers have to reach out for interviews on topics we are following; but this one has its own momentum. John Fund's piece in the Wall Street Journal yesterday gave it a big push.
Now, since the oversight issue surely will be brought up in the confirmation hearings of Judd Gregg to head the Commerce Department, and since many Congressional hearings are normally slated to monitor Census preparations on such matters as minority and urban outreach, you can be sure that the subject of potential politicization by the White House is not going to go away on its own. If we are still talking about this in twelve months there will be panic in the street canvass.
So why not just ask the Press Secretary to issue a short, solid "clarification" and make the controversy disappear?
