The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

p> GROSS DOMESTIC APPROVAL br> "If we can make it through this week without a huge dustup, we'll be okay," says a White House Capitol Hill operative. /p>

That's the thinking as the monthly estimate of Gross Domestic Product and Friday's unemployment figures dribble out. The GDP numbers were pretty depressing on Wednesday, about a percentage point below the pre-release estimate, and the White House is steeling itself for poor news on the unemployment front. "But in the end, if we can survive this month and move into August without a lot of terrible news, we should be seeing light at the end of the tunnel," the operative says.

The White House worried most that terrible numbers would have the Washington press corps and economic and financial writers working away through August on doom and gloom reports. "Of course, they could do that anyway, but the numbers wouldn't give them a lot of hard ammunition," the White House source adds.

The thinking on Pennsylvania Avenue and on Capitol Hill is that the worst of the corporate collapses is over and the economy and employment numbers should improve moving into the fall. "If we can all get out of town and back home, things will smooth out," says a Senate Republican staffer. "Our bosses are all going to have to answer a ton of questions once they get there, but it's better than having to sit in Washington and watch the spinning and posturing."

Both White House and Capitol Hill staffers expect that Republican approval numbers should move up a bit, if only because Bush intends to travel in August to campaign for Republican candidates and press his agenda. "Unless there is a huge screwup somewhere, he's going to be looking pretty good for the next few weeks," says a House Republican leadership staffer. "And if he looks good, we look good."

p> RADIO DAZE br> Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney , she of the "George W. Bush knew in advance of the World Trade Center attack and did nothing about it" conspiracy theory, remains in good form. /p>

As might be recalled, McKinney faces a potentially embarrassing primary challenge from another African-American woman, who is poised to knock off McKinney before a Republican gets a chance, much as Artur Davis knocked off Rep. Earl Hilliard in neighboring Alabama last June.

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