Coming Next: Enemies List

Obama's communications team is rushing into the age of partisan media, full speed. The White House Communications Director Anita Dunn has declared war (perhaps, fatwa) on Fox News, and did so while currying favor with FNC arch-rival CNN. The money quote:

And that’s fine, but let’s not pretend they’re a news network the way CNN is

Dunn continued later to say:

We’re going to treat them the way we would treat an opponent. As they are undertaking a war against Barack Obama and the White House, we don’t need to pretend that this is the way that legitimate news organizations behave.

Countdown to Nattering Nabobs of Negativism? We have fully reversed course from the Nixon White House, who decried the "liberal" media. The current administration lashes out against the "conservative" media.

Aside from delicious historical reversal -- really people, some things don't change much, the White House is lashing out at its most effective critics (recall how much the Bush White House loved HuffPo) -- what do we make of this? Perhaps the New York Times shows us the way:

Don’t pick a fight with people who like to fight. -- reportedly Roger Ailes, head of FNC, quoted to the NYT

Before we start handing out Peabodys, let's pause and remember that CNN recently devoted a fact checking segment to a comedy sketch by Saturday Night Live. Apparently SNL went a little over the top in picking fun of Obama's resume.

Let me see if I follow the logic. The news organization that's overly critical of the government -- not legit. The news organization that picks on comedians who are critical of the government -- "a news network" to quote the White House.

As Max Brantley aptly points out in his Arkansas Blog, time to worry when Jon Stewart becomes the fact checker of the fact checkers. (Stewart: "You fact checked a comedy sketch? . . . Did you also discover that sharks live in water and don't deliver candy grams?")

Or maybe, simply, it's a clear sign of the coming information apocalypse.