The tortured logic of Nedia Pickler

As disabused by James Taranto:

She justifies Obama's attacks on Sarah Palin in this way:

With Palin out on the campaign trail every day blasting Obama, it became increasingly clear he had to respond and try to undermine her credibility. He was careful with his approach, declining in an interview on MSNBC's "Countdown" on Monday to respond directly to a question about whether she's too inexperienced to be next in line to the presidency.

As a thought experiment, let's recast that first sentence with the parties reversed:

With Biden out on the campaign trail every day blasting McCain, it became increasingly clear McCain had to respond and try to undermine Biden's credibility.

No one could write this with a straight face. It would be obvious that McCain was aiming for the wrong target, diminishing himself and elevating Biden. What Pickler wrote is obviously what those in the Obama campaign believe--and now that she has reported it as if it were a fact, it will only become harder to disabuse them of the idea.