In Search of Enemies, Acknowledged

The White House is quite open about trying to use Boehner as its Alinsky-style target, as Peter Nicholas reports in The Los Angeles Times:

"You need a device if you're going to have a debate, because you can't have a debate against a vacuum," a senior White House aide said in an interview Thursday, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the administration's thinking. "Boehner provided an opportunity for that. At previous times over the course of the last year, [Senate Republican leader Mitch] McConnell has served that purpose and [Texas House Republican Joe] Barton has been a foil."