Putting your worst foot forward: When bad is good  Thursday -
3/14/2013, 2:00am EDT  Normally the job of federal agency public
affairs offices is to inform the public, help/handle the media
(and Congress) and (most importantly) make the secretary,
director, administrator or chairman look good. That way the big
boss can make the President look good. Which is good.  Making
the boss look good is bipartisan. It has been that way for a
long, long time regardless of whether POTUS is a Republican,
Democrat or Whig.  Makes sense. At least to them.  So, most of
the time, federal agencies try to look good. Worth their cost.
Put their best foot forward. Most of the time...  But there are
times, like now, when the best thing an agency can do is to
point out what a lousy job it is doing, or is about to be forced
to do. This is when the area of putting-your-worst-foot-forward
comes into play.  Normally, government agencies talk about how
much good they are doing, how many bad people they caught or put
away, how many good,