WaPo Animation: Line of Effeminate Republicans Kiss Limbaugh's Butt -- Literally

Wednesday's Washington Post flooded the zone on the GOP's Rush Limbaugh "problem" on the front page -- and two hostile articles on the editorial page. But don't miss how the Post website has an animated political cartoon by liberal Ann Telnaes with a series of effeminate Republicans kissing Limbaugh's butt -- literally.

On page one, political reporter Perry Bacon Jr. began: "For a man who expresses no desire to lead the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh has a knack of creating problems for those who do." The Post played up the "ongoing controversy" over Limbaugh's CPAC speech and his "bombastic criticism of a popular new president."

The editorial page featured pseudo-conservative columnist Kathleen Parker responding to charges Limbaugh led the GOP: "Talk about damning with praise." Her article was headlined "Rush to the Wrong Choice." Obama campaign manager David Plouffe also attacked Rush as the leader of "the politics of division and partisan pettiness."

There's trash-talk on the WaPo blogs as well. Reporter Joel Achenbach blogged:  "What a splash Rush Limbaugh made with that speech Saturday. I thought it was, at a purely technical level, rambling, sloppy, self-indulgent, demagogic and anachronistic, but it is conceivable that I was not his target audience."

Bacon's article found the usual suspects to denounce Rush, like Paul Begala:

"Rush is the bloated face and drug-addled voice of the Republican Party," said Paul Begala, a longtime Democratic strategist who rose to prominence during Bill Clinton's presidency. "Along with lots of others, I intend to continue to turn up the heat until every alleged Republican either endorses or renounces Rush's statement that he hopes our president fails."

The Bacon article came with an accompanying text-box by Garance Franke-Ruta laying out how Republican leaders have apologized to Limbaugh after criticizing him.