No, but I give credit to Powers for asking the question. And yes, quite frankly, Rush's apology is part of damage control. And yes, if as conservatives we're going to set a higher standard we do need to expect more from the commentators on our side. As I said in a previous posting, this effort by Rush, almost from the beginning didn't feel like Rush. His comments were not ironic, they were mean-spirited and the bit about seeing sex tapes wasn't funny, it was creepy.

I think he had no choice but to apologize, but I can speak from personal experience here: such an apology won't assuage the left, it will only embolden them. Powers' point here needs to be repeated often. There is an immense double standard. When the left says vicious things about women they get a free pass. When the someone on the right apologizes it's seen as an admission of guilt, always not enough on the part of the apologizer and as an opportunity to pile on.