Post talking points on Bachmann and Dole

Michele Bachmann at CPAC 2010

(This article originally appeared on Virginia Politics on Demand on June 1, 2013.)

Say what you will about Michele Bachmann's middle-of-the-night announcement that she will not be seeking another term in Congress next year, but the Washington Post has the commentary down-pat.

Here are the opening paragraphs of Dana Milbank's page A2 analysis piece on May 29:

Bob Dole must be some kind of prophet.

Not 72 hours after Fox News Channel aired the former Republican leader’s suggestion that the GOP put out a “closed for repairs” sign, Michele Bachmann announced that she’s going out of business. Just like that, the Republican conglomerate got an unexpected chance to shutter one of the balkiest shops in its supply chain.

And here's the first paragraph of E.J. Dionne's oped piece, published the same day

Maybe Bob Dole has more clout in the Republican Party than we think. He suggested on Sunday that the party put up a “closed for repairs” sign for the rest of the year. Then along comes Michele Bachmann declaring on Wednesday that she won’t seek reelection.

This is the sort of coincidence one finds after letting the print edition of the newspaper sit unread for a couple of days. At least we know that both Milbank and Dionne got the memo. Who sent it is a question yet unanswered.