Instead of condemning Rush Limbaugh, Mitt Romney merely said

it was "not the language" he would have used



Everyone should have stood up and said this was inappropriate as apparently many of Rush's advertisers now have said it was inappropriate. I was kind of shocked, Anderson, when Governor Romney all he had -- all he had to say about the thing was, well, that isn't language I would have used. What about the spirit of what was said? I thought that was a cowardly answer and it was a test of leadership and one that he failed.

I think one of the reasons why Governor Romney and others were so timid in speaking out is because Rush is the de facto leader of the Republican Party, so to take him on would be to risk your own standing within the party.

David Axelrod on Anderson Cooper's CNN show last night (video here ):Axelrod said he believed Romney gave such an evasive answer out of fear of Rush Limbaugh:Romney said Limbaugh's words were "not the language" that he would have used. But this wasn't just about Limbaugh's word choice: it was about the substance of what he said. And by refusing to comment on that, Romney was effectively condoning it.