Or maybe the White House has already decided the House will flip to Republican control, and they are actually angling to weaken future Speaker Boehner before he takes the gavel from Nancy Pelosi?

Democratic strategist Paul Begala’s praise for the strategy indicated that this is likely Obama’s design.

“It is smart, I think, to introduce Boehner to the country and make him the orangey face of the GOP,” Begala said, poking fun at Boehner’s much-discussed tan. “No one knew who Martin and Barton and Fish were when FDR excoriated them, but they were a useful symbol of GOP opposition to the New Deal.”

But a House Democratic leadership aide insisted that the White House is not aiming its rhetoric at a post-election Republican House.

“If that was the case, then you go after [Boehner’s] character, not issues. And I speak from experience,” the aide said.