Desperate to distract from the ongoing Obamacare disaster, alleged marital discord between Barack and Michelle Obama is being strategically leaked by White House insiders, and beginning to break into the mainstream media via familiar channels.

Anyone who stood in a supermarket checkout line last week (a sizable portion of the adult female population, and not inconsiderable portion of the males) saw the National Enquirer cover story blaring allegations of a screaming match between the Obamas in the wake of Michelle's star-studded fiftieth birthday party. That story has now broken into the mainstream media via the world's most popular English language news site, the UK Daily Mail:

If rumours are to be believed, the 21-year marriage of Barack and Michelle Obama has been racked by screaming rows, allegations of infidelity and a string of jealous fights. While the White House has refused to comment on the reports there has been a distinct frostiness in the air between the couple in recent months. According to a report in the National Enquirer - which plastered 'Obama Divorce Bombshell!' across its front page - the pair have been at loggerheads since last summer and are now sleeping in separate bedrooms. The 'final straw', apparently, was Michelle's outrage when her husband publicly humiliated her by openly flirting and posing for his now infamous 'selfie' photograph with Denmark's glamorous blonde Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt at Nelson Mandela's memorial service. According to published reports, Mrs Obama is only standing by her 52-year-old husband until his presidency ends.

I am very suspicious about the emergence of this story right at this moment. It may well be that there is tension between the Obamas, and the president's behavior in South Africa reflected a self-indulgent egotist - but what is new about that? The photos of the president and the comely prime minister provided a decision point for the image czars at the White House (most likely, Valerie Jarrett). On the one hand they could try to stonewall and ignore, presenting a unified happy face. Or, on the other, the so-far completely tight-lipped staff could be allowed to leak rumors to the media through the well-established pipeline of the National Enquirer, knowing that within a week or two, the story would make its way to more established media and into the national consciousness.

Then would begin the counter-offensive, such as this via the Obama lapdogs at NBC News

The first lady loves her silver fox. In a Google Hangout on Friday dubbed "A Virtual Road Trip with President Obama," the president took a question about how presidents age more rapidly than the average population, and acknowledged that even though he is sporting more salt than pepper in his hair these days, his wife Michelle is a fan. (snip) As for his changing look, Obama was eager to set the record straight: "My wife at least, still thinks I'm pretty cute even with the gray hair, I just want you to know," he said.

Low information voters (aka, the Obama base) will lap this up. The marital strife can be blamed on those mean right wingers, while the aging-gracefully president and his mate work to overcome the many obstacles facing them as they sacrifice their health and welfare for a grateful nation.

Hey, it beats devoting space to Obamacare victims.