NPR, News & Notes, Nov. 20, 2008 by Farai Chideya
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97260899
“I think every outgoing president—Republican or Democrat—wants to extend his administration’s reach, so in the final months we see an attempt at locking in controversial policy decisions. Even if some of these decisions can be undone, the effort that the new administration has to put into undoing them prevents the new administration from starting their own regulatory agendas.”