Why no Obama statement commemorating Easter?

When White House press corps reporters asked Jay Carney why President Obama had not released an official statement commemorating Easter, the press secretary laughed at them and mocked their line of "important questions." As Drudge notes today, President Obama has delivered well-wishes marking all Muslim holidays, but leaves out one of Christianity's most important days of the year? Why?

I'm not convinced it's necessary for the president to do this, but a president who faces criticism over his religious background on a daily basis from fringe elements of the religious right would certainly be more careful, wouldn't he? Not unless he wanted to fan the flames. I wouldn't be surprised if the Obama administration purposefully neglected to release a statement -- an act they know will rile up naysayers and position the president to once again point the finger at those apparently crazy Christian conservatives.

If there's one thing this administration has accomplished in the past few years, it's showing that they have a shrewd talent of manipulating the media to their advantage. This debate certainly keeps the focus off other issues. I'm not convinced that this "Is he really a Muslim?" line of questioning isn't being spun directly from the White House -- an organized effort to try and stigmatize some of President Obama's most outspoken opponents.