The White House was relishing the chance to fight Rush Limbaugh, to elevate him to the role of Leader of the Opposition, to have the country riveted to the day-to-day back-and-forth between the administration and the national radio-show host. And it is working . . . but for who?

“The people who love him are a very small segment of the public,” said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers magazine, whose research indicates that Limbaugh’s weekly audience has spiked from 14.2 million to about 25 million since the controversy escalated. “A lot of people still think he’s a shock jock, a hatemonger, a right-wing radical, or hold his personal baggage against him.”

Hmm. If, indeed, 11 million or so new or lapsed listeners are tuning in to Rush this week (and perhaps for the foreseeable future), is that really such a great development for the White House? Aren’t at least some of those folks tuning in to see what the fuss is about likely to be won over by Rush’s arguments? If they strongly disagreed, they would presumably tune in, hear a few minutes, dismiss El Rushbo, and change the station.

If Rush is going to move public opinion, he needs not just the Dittoheads, but the persuadables to tune in. And it would seem they are.

In fact, who do you think is more likely to persuade a citizen who voted for Obama but has nagging doubts about the new president — elected officials like Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, or the Entertaining Army of One, Rush Limbaugh?