At today's White House briefing, the Chicago Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet followed up on her report that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan came to the White House to discuss a potential candidacy for the state's Senate seat. Sweet reported that the White House "is pushing to have" Madigan run, and that she offered some conditions she would want before making a decision, including a clear primary field.

Today, Gibbs tried to make clear that the administration wants no part in primary politics, though his answer lead many to believe otherwise.

"The president is not going to pick a candidate in the Illinois Senate race," Gibbs said. "The president has a very long relationship with the attorney general dating back to their time in the state Senate, and has enormous respect for what she accomplished there and as attorney general. I think she'd be a terrific candidate. But we're not going to get involved in picking that candidate."

Why then praise her in that way, if the White House truly did not plan to get involved?

"We're not picking a candidate. We're not going to endorse in this race," he repeated. "Does the president have enormous respect for the attorney general? Absolutely."

But are administration officials working to facilitate a Madigan run?

"The staff assistants aren't going to pick a candidate, the assistants to the president aren't going to pick a candidate, and the president's not going to pick a candidate," Gibbs said.

He later said that the "president enjoyed meeting" with Madigan, and that if any other potential candidate wanted to meet with him, "The address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."