Democrats reveling in Limbaugh's gaffe

Rush Limbaugh is an interesting character. As the outspoken voice of the conservative movement, Limbaugh has countless supporters and an equal number of opponents. And when Limbaugh says something, it becomes news.

That simply is the power he commands.

Well, Limbaugh got into hot water last week with his characterization of a college student as a "slut" and a "prostitute."

There's tons of background information needed to portray the full story. But it takes far too much time to go into the background of the "student."

Let's just acknowledge - as Limbaugh did publicly - that his wording was a mistake. For that, he apologized numerous times.

But the fallout from the inappropriate wording has turned into just more political mileage for the Democrats.

And that fairly well describes the sorry state of politics in this country.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the Democratic party machine kicked into high gear.

Sen. Claire McCaskill fashioned a fundraising letter based on the comments. And several Democratic party candidates in Missouri joined in to raise funds from Limbaugh's words.

Now, Gov. Jay Nixon weighs into the brouhaha.

Before the firestorm struck, House Speaker Steve Tilley (R-Perryville) had nominated Limbaugh for inclusion in the Hall of Famous Missourians.

It is the Speaker's role to make such nominations and to install a bust of the recipient in the Missouri Capitol - funded with private money.

This process has always been the same.

But seeking to take political advantage from the incident, Nixon, McCaskill and countless others have seen an opportunity.

It's impossible to argue that Rush Limbaugh is not an appropriate member to the Hall of Famous Missourians.

His radio broadcasting career has been second to none. He holds great respect in conservative circles and his audience of 15 million daily listeners makes him - famous.

If you want only those without warts for induction into the Hall, then the list would be very, very small. There are some already included who could not stand the scrutiny of today's current political scene.

It's sad that Limbaugh made comments that crossed the line.

But it's even sadder that political opponents seek to gain financially from the incident.