White House's Battle with Fox News Comes to the Press Pool

The White House battle with Fox News, which Fox's direct competitors have already been forced to cover, has now become a press pool question, via another competitor—ABC.
Helen Thomas, the New York Times and The Nation have all declared the fight a dumb one. But the administration tried to infuse it with strategic importance this morning:

White House Cites Opinion Shows as Basis for Fox News Complaints

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Tuesday pointed to two top-rated opinion shows on Fox News as the reason why the Obama administration has castigated the network as an illegitimate news organization.
Gibbs weighed in on the controversy after several top White House advisers have gone on other channels to criticize Fox News' coverage of the administration, dismiss the network as the mouthpiece of the Republican Party and urge other news organizations not to treat Fox News as a legitimate news station.

And a special little "haha.. wait, what?" article:


Obama's team again rips Fox News - but says aides will appear on shows

Fox News is an important voice in American politics - but just don't call it fair and balanced, top White House aides said Sunday.
President Obama's advisers chose napalm to fuel the feud on the Sunday talk show circuit rather than making peace with a TV network the White House and its supporters consider red meat for red states.