Stephen Colbert has fine words for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who defended Rush Limbaugh’s use of the word “retard” this weekend after attacking an Obama aide for the same offense.

“Sarah Palin knows that it’s okay to call someone a retard if like rush you clearly don’t mean it which is why we should all come to her defense and say: Sarah Palin is a fucking retard,” Colbert quipped.

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Palin’s son, Trig, has Down Syndrome. She had criticized Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel for telling liberal activists that a political strategy was “fucking retarded” during a private meeting in the White House.

But when Rush Limbaugh used the same word, Palin declared that his usage was acceptable because it was satire.

On his radio show, Limbaugh said: “Our political correct society is acting like some giant insult’s taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards. I mean these people, these liberal activists are kooks. They are looney tunes. And I’m not going to apologize for it, I’m just quoting Emanuel. It’s in the news. I think their big news is he’s out there calling Obama’s number one supporters f’ing retards. So now there’s going to be a meeting. There’s going to be a retard summit at the White House.”

Palin had no problem with Limbaugh’s remarks during an interview with Fox News on Sunday.

“They are kooks, so I agree with Rush Limbaugh,” Palin said, claiming Limbaugh was merely “using satire.”

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This video is from Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, broadcast Feb. 8, 2010.