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Today at the White House, Obama unveiled a proposal to extend low interest rates on student loans for another year, preventing them from doubling on July 1st. House Republicans have objected to Obama’s proposal, noting that they have passed their own plan to extend low student loan rates. They claim their proposal is only slightly different from Obama’s, which is highly debatable, but there is a legitimate policy debate to be had over the two proposals.

Except that Republicans have decided to inject — what else? — the “presidential scandals” into the argument.

On MSNBC this morning, GOP Rep. Luke Messer — the President of the Republican Freshman Class — accused Obama of hyping the difference between the two plans as a way to distract from the “scandals.”

“There is a lot more in agreement between our plan and the president’s plan than some of the rhetoric you hear out of Democrats,” Messer said. “A lot of this is a distraction.” Messer added that Obama’s insistence on differences between the two sides was intended as “a distraction from issues like Benghazi and the IRS and the Department of Justice.”

Messer also claimed that the argument was intended as a distraction from what Obama policies had done to the economy and young people’s prospects.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for John Boehner has been making a more careful version of Messer’s argument, insisting that the White House is pointing to differences between their proposals as a way to “change the subject from its growing list of scandals.”....

Yesterday’s Quinnipiac poll found that an overwhelming majority of Americans — 73-22 — thinks we should be placing a higher priority on the economy than on the “scandals” gripping Washington. It seems pretty backwards to claim that in talking about differences over an economic issue such as student loan rates, Obama is trying to distract from the scandals. Message: In talking about something the public cares about, Obama is trying to distract from stories that huge majorities see as a far less important priority!

Are Republicans going to inject the “scandals” into the discussion every time Obama highlights differences with Republicans over an issue important to the middle class? Guess we’ll soon find out.

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In the latest scandal to rock the Obama Administration, a leading Republican congressman accused the President today of using his position to obtain free government housing for himself and his family.

According to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin), Mr. Obama “has arrogantly exploited the office of President to gain access to a fifty-five-thousand-square-foot residence, known as the White House, that could double as a museum.”

“While the average American is struggling to pay his bills, President Obama is living in a luxury home, adorned with priceless paintings and antiques as far as the eye can see,” Rep. Ryan alleged....

Drawing a line in the sand, the Republican warned Mr. Obama to cut back on his lavish living arrangements “or face possible impeachment.” “Across America, people are tightening their belts,” Rep. Ryan said. “The President should not be living like a head of state.”