Friday afternoons are known among PR professionals as the best time to drop bad news, as there's a chance that it might be forgotten over the weekend.
In other words, it's not the best time to make an announce about something that you want people to remember like, say, the start of a political campaign.
But Jim Bob Duggar waited until this afternoon to announce that he's running for Arkansas State Senate.
The reason for this low-key reveal should be obvious to anyone who's even vaguely aware of the latest scandal surrounding Jim Bob's ever-controversial family.
In case you somehow haven't heard, Josh Duggar was arrested on child pornography charges in April of this year.
In just a few weeks' time, he'll stand trial for allegedly downloading and storing dozens of explicit photos and videos, some of them depicting children as young as 18 months old.
If convicted, Josh faces 20 years in prison.
Some might say that with his family embroiled in the most appalling scandal in the entire sordid history of reality television, this is a very bad time for the Duggar patriarch to re-enter the political arena.
(Jim Bob served one term in the Arkansas House of Representatives beginning in 1999.)
And obviously, those people would be right.
But Jim Bob is a man who believes the Earth is 6,000 years and Jesus rode a dinosaur to his job at the AR-15 factory.
He's not someone who can be reasoned with, is what we're saying.
So even though his campaign seems doomed from the start, Jim Bob attempted a big smile while posing with his wife for the pic (below) that accompanied today's Facebook announcement.
The father of 19's full statement reads as follows:
“We are excited to share this big announcement with you! Thank you in advance for your prayers and support!
“Jim Bob Duggar announces he will be a candidate for Arkansas State Senate District 7, which includes Springdale, Johnson, Goshen and Elkins in eastern Washington County. Jim Bob previously served in the Arkansas House of Representatives for four years (1999-2002).
“Jim Bob was born and raised in Springdale, attended Springdale Public Schools and graduated from Shiloh Christian High School.
"At 18 Jim Bob acquired his real estate license and went on to become a successful commercial real estate investor. He married his high school sweetheart Michelle Ruark Duggar 37 years ago and they went on to have 20 children and have been blessed with 22 grandchildren so far.”
At that point, JB dropped the press release speak and addressed his potential constituents in a more personal way:
“I am honored to announce my candidacy for Arkansas State Senate District 7. Northwest Arkansas is my lifelong home,” Jim Bob he was quoted as saying
“It’s where my wife Michelle and I have raised our 20 children. It’s where we’ve grown our small businesses. It’s where we’ve built a life centered around our faith, family, and friends," Jim Bob continued.
"Our family has been blessed by God in so many ways. We’ve found His love and goodness to be our source of strength in both our most joyous occasions and our darkest moments. It’s important to us to give back and to help others in every way we can.
“I’m running for State Senate because these are unprecedented times in our nation," he prattled on.
"Out-of-control bureaucrats have put politics over common-sense policy with government mandates that force people to choose between earning a paycheck and violating their personal rights and beliefs.
"The foundational principles that have made our nation great are under threat like never before.”
James Robert wrapped things up by summarizing his platform, which is unlikely to surprise anyone who's at all familiar with the guy:
“Now more than ever, we need a bold voice that is pro-family, pro-business, pro-gun and pro-life," he said.
"It’s time for conservatives to demand courageous leadership that puts Arkansas families, jobs, and our constitutional liberties first. I look forward to being your voice in the Arkansas State Senate.”
Now, we're not gonna pretend to know what the political climate is like in northwest Arkansas.
But we do know that Jim Bob was hated by his neighbors even before the latest Josh scandal.
(Yes, it's important not to forget that Josh molested five young girls -- four of whom were his sisters -- while he was still in his teens, and Jim Bob helped him beat the charges.)
So does he really have a chance now, in one of the most pious and tradition-oriented regions of the country?
The sad fact is, he might.
After all, Jim Bob is sure to be much wealthier than whoever runs against him, and sometimes that's all it takes to tip the scales in an election.
Of course, JB's chances of winning the race are sure to decline precipitously if Josh gets convicted, so we guess we have one more reason to hope that the Judge throws the book at that creep!