This is precisely why. . .

. . .John McCain doesn't want folks like Bill Cunningham saying things in his name that create an appearance of prejudice or bigotry: because nothing happens in a vacuum. Imagine the kind of hostile treatment John McCain would be receiving right now if he had embraced Cunningham's rhetoric in Ohio.

"Senator McCain, on Rush Limbaugh's radio show today, a caller related to Rush that her daughter thought Barack Obama 'looks like Curious George,' who is a cartoon monkey. Given your campaign's embrace of Cunningham, and the views expressed by the guests on Rush Limbaugh's show today, don't you think Senator Obama and African-Americans in general have a reason to be concerned that there's a concerted effort to exploit Senator Obama's race by your campaign and some conservative talk radio hosts as a wedge issue?"

Rush did the smart, and right, thing when informed of just what Curious George is and repudiated the remarks. However, I can't help wondering why some of the conservatives who were so enraged with McCain when he repudiated Cunningham's remarks aren't accusing Rush of "throwing a fellow conservative under the bus".