I am perfectly happy to watch the Obama White House get their base all worked up with the new Fox News offensive and the swipe at liberal bloggers. But I’m personally not much inclined to take the bait. A few months ago, this White House trotted out a tired attack on Rush Limbaugh just to stir the pot and distract media attention. I can’t quite figure out what the White House’s thinking is in both attacking lefty blogs and giving them anti-Fox red meat, though, I haven’t had my coffee yet. But it all seems like part of some lame larger strategy at precisely the moment health-care votes are coming down the pike and a decision on Afghanistan is due. Yesterday, First Read noted:

Check out the most recent Gallup poll on the president’s job rating, it’s at 56%, a two month high. And you know what coincided with that bump? (Yes, we know, the Nobel Prize). But the bump also coincided with the quietest week on the issue of health care that we’ve had since, well, since the last time the president had an approval rating in the Gallup poll over 55%.

Perhaps it’s as simple as the fact that this White House makes more progress selling health-care reform when it’s not actually selling health-care reform. Getting everyone to go look at those shiny things over there while they push through a bill may be all this is about. Or maybe this White House’s well-disciplined communications shop is coming apart at the seams. Must activate coffee-brain to ponder more.