The White House jumps on a political opportunity and defends a law student attacked by Rush Limbaugh for her contraception activism.

The Obama Administration may be making a case that the president saved and turned around the economy, but White House officials are happy to talk about social issues instead. A day after Rush Limbaugh referred to Sandra Fluke, a law student who had hoped to testify before a House committee on the need for insurance to cover contraception, as a "slut" and "prostitute," Democrats are in battle mode. Press Secretary Jay Carney said the conservative talker's comments were reprehensible during a briefing at the White House, while Obama himself called Fluke to offer his support. The call came shortly before she went on MSNBC to talk to Andrea Mitchell, in what is surely an, um, fluke of timing (read: political calculation).

Democrats must be in fits of ecstatic giggles that the national conversation is still about birth control but has migrated away from the question of religious freedom and into a debate (apparently) about whether sex is good. A recent poll shows a majority of Americans back coverage for birth control. It's a delicate line to walk, though: voters also say they're sick of hearing politicians focus on reproductive issues rather than the economy, posing a danger for both parties.