Via HotAir:

Romney, who can’t afford to offend Dittoheads the way Brown can, initially ducked questions about it before politely saying, “It’s not the language I would have used.” As for Santorum, watch the CNN clip below via Mediaite. He says Rush is being absurd because he is, after all, an “entertainer,” but that excuse never spares, say, Jon Stewart from criticism on the right. Stewart, in fact, is famous for his “clown nose off, clown nose on” schtick, operating as a satirical yet fundamentally serious commentator until he’s called out for something he’s said, when suddenly he’s “just a comedian” again and you should really lighten up, dude. Rush sometimes benefits from the same defense, even though he is in fact “the First and Foremost thought-leader” for a lot of grassroots conservatives. Ah well. By Monday, we’ll all be onto something else. Roll on, mighty short-attention-spanned news cycle.