The absence of civility makes reasoned discourse difficult, if not impossible. When elected officials and their spokespersons sink to uncivil speech, it fouls the well of communication for all of us, and is therefore unethical…as well as unprofessional, immature, and rude. Resorting to personal attacks is an especially low tactic on the battlefield of ideas, even if one thinks he is responding in kind.

Senator John Kerry was apparently offended by a typical Rush Limbaugh riff recently, when Rush chose to make comic and political points about this muddled statement by Kerry on "Face the Nation":

"There is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, uh-uh-uh, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the -- of -- of -- of -- historical customs, religious customs, whether you like it or not. Iraqis should be doing that."

Limbaugh, knowing a great set-up when he heard one, pounced:

"Iraqis ought to be terrorizing Iraqi women and children! Yes he did. Yes he did just say it! …Now, folks, is it me, or does this man sound like he has dementia? He just blabs away. If you saw the whole appearance, he just blabs away, says whatever enters his mind, regardless of its possible effect on our troops, regardless of whether it makes any sense. As long as he's being paid attention to, he will pursue any hapless effort again at winning the presidency."

Now, it would be unfair to expect Senator Kerry to laugh along with Rush (though Kerry and friends probably find Jon Stewart's and David Letterman's ridicule of President Bush's unending verbal gaffes unequivocally hilarious), but the fact is that his public statements, like Bush's, are fair game. Anyone who objectively observed Kerry's presidential run knows that he has a well-documented tendency to utter strange, self-contradictory statements delivered with excessive gravity, and Limbaugh, who is equal parts gadfly, conservative champion and entertainer, crossed no lines of fairness or decorum by his criticism.

But Kerry's spokesman, David Wade, did. His statement, presumably cleared by Kerry, was to call Limbaugh a fat criminal:

"Political hack Ken Mehlman [Note: Ken Mehlman Chairman of the GOP National Committee. For any political spokesman to deride someone else as a "hack" has to set a new high in the pot versus kettle wars.] and draft-dodging, doughnut eating Rush Limbaugh have something in common. Neither of them know anything about how to make American troops safe. John Kerry will continue to speak out about how to succeed in Iraq and protect brave American troops."

"Draft-dodging, doughnut-eating," David? Wow…that sure put him in his place!

Neither Kerry nor the members of his staff are Al Franken, like Limbaugh a political-minded satirist who called one of his books, in part, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." That's humor, or at least Franken's brand of it. Senator Kerry is supposed to deal in reason, facts, and provable assertions. "Draft-dodging," when used to describe anyone who was deferred from military service by legal means, is an unfair, misleading and virtually slanderous description. Draft-dodging was a crime; qualifying for a legal deferment, like Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Bill Clinton, 95% of my high school and college classmates, and me, was not a crime. There is simply no excuse for a responsible public figure using such a dishonest insult in public or private.

But "doughnut-eating" is arguably worse. The fact that the law does not bar discrimination on the basis of attractiveness, weight, or some other physical attributes doesn't change what a statement like this is: bigotry. "Fat people are not worthy of respect" is Wade's message here, and the Scoreboard will not accept claims that "doughnut-eating" is meant as criticism of Limbaugh's food preferences. There has never been any allegation I am aware of that Rush is especially fond of doughnuts or that he even eats them at all. Wade, like all purveyors of bigotry, is talking in code. "Rush isn't a jogger, like all our athletic 20-something supporters; he isn't slim and fashionable, like our single female pro-choice supporters; he doesn't eat tofu, like our virtuous environmentally-conscious healthy food and drug advocates. You should ignore him because he's bad, and you know he's bad because he's fat." (Though it doesn't matter, Limbaugh is in fact not fat, having shed nearly a hundred pound in recent years by hiring a personal chef.)

How ugly; how juvenile; how offensive! Imagine, if you can, a spokesperson for, oh, Bill Frist disparaging "aging, bagel-eating, big-nosed Barbra Streisand." Or "watermelon-eating, jive-talking, fornicating Jesse Jackson." You can't imagine it, probably; it would never happen, and if it did, there would the Devil to pay…and the Devil would deserve every penny he got.

Senator Kerry, if he has the exalted sense of honor that he claims to have, should know what to do now: reprimand his spokesperson, disavow his words, and though I am sure that he'd rather eat dirt-covered doughnuts, apologize to Rush Limbaugh. That humble act, far more than anything he has done or said lately, would support Kerry's contention that he is worthy of being president. It would also do something more important: it would demonstrate that we even owe respect and civility to those who dislike, oppose, and criticize us.

And, of course, its high time Hell freezes over.