Dems: Romney Can't Face Limbaugh, Let Alone Iran

The Rush Limbaugh chronicles surfaced on the campaign trail again, with David Axelrod veering off the topic of Super Tuesday to criticize Mitt Romney for his tepid response to the "slut" comment, reports the Huffington Post. If Romney can't stand up to "the most strident voices in your party, how can he stand up to Ahmadinejad?" he asked. "The Limbaugh thing was a test of leadership ... and Mitt Romney has failed." The Romney camp's response:

• "One thing Mitt Romney will not do is timidly offer to sit down with Ahmadinejad with no pre-conditions, as President Obama did, and he certainly won’t ignore the looming threat of a nuclear Iran, as this administration has done."

Also today:

• Sponsors: Limbaugh dismissed concerns about the number of advertisers that have left. (It's up to 43, says the Hollywood Reporter.) "Everything is fine on the business side," he said, adding that he has "18,000" sponsors. "That’s like losing a couple of french fries in the container when it’s delivered to you in the drive thru. You don’t even notice it.” More at Politico.
• Bill Maher tweeted that the left should accept Limbaugh's apology: "Hate to defend #Rush Limbaugh but he apologized, liberals looking bad not accepting. Also hate intimidation by sponsor pullout," he wrote, according to CBS News.

(More David Axelrod stories.)