Rush decides to help Obama (updated)

In his predictably classless way, Rush Limbaugh exposes a weakness in Sen. Barack Obama:

Now, apparently before he made the speech, Maureen Dowd had written something about his big ears. Obama, after the speech, made a beeline for Maureen Dowd who was in the audience to tell her that he didn’t appreciate her writing about his big ears. Now, there’s a lot of noise here and it’s very muddy. I’ll translate it for you, but here’s how it sounded.
OBAMA (off mic): You talked about my ears, and I just want to put you on notice: I’m very sensitive about — What I told them was, ”I was teased relentlessly when I was a kid about my big ears.'”
DOWD (purring): We’re trying to toughen you up
RUSH: “We’re just trying to toughen you up.” Here is what Barack Obama said.”You talked about my ears, and I just want to put you on notice: I’m very sensitive about — What at I told them was, ‘I was teased relentlessly when I was a kid about my big ears.'” Now, there are many aspects of this, folks, that we need to delve into and explore. For one thing, I mean you know me, if the guy’s sensitive about his big ears, we need to give him a new name, like Dumbo. But that doesn’t quite get it. How about Barack Obama Hussein Odumbo. Well, if he’s sensitive — stop to think about this. This is a man being lauded as the savior of the country, a presidential candidate ready to be anointed, and he can’t handle being teased about his big ears? He goes out to Maureen Dowd and says, I am putting you on notice? Is that a threat? I want to put you on notice?

Rush sure has an eye for noticing threats, eh?
Along with the odd “purring” descriptive in the transcript, he helpfully provides a spitball an illustrative graphic and the playground chant “Odumbo”, so evidently he’s decided to lead the efforts of Obama’s supporters to toughen him up.
Rush, of course, is the GOP shill who felt liberted after the election, because it had been so hard to “carry the water for people who I don’t think deserve having their water carried”. It’s kind of hard to take anything he says these days seriously, and given his self-professed ability to… um… obfuscate, Polimom wonders whether he’s carrying someone else’s water again.
Meanwhile, “Obama for President” tv ads are apparently kicking off next week in New Hampshire. Are they seriously starting the ’08 campaign now? It’s still 2006, for goodness’ sake! I don’t think I can take two full years of electioneering…
Note: You can follow various efforts to “help” Obama via memeorandum. What silliness. Seriously.
Update:  And then there’s George Will, who exhorts Obama to run because to back out now, after all the breathless excitement, would be like getting a girl on her tiptoes but then not delivering the anticipated kiss.   And of course, nobody likes a tease…
Since I wouldn’t have expected to see Will in the Obama party-tent, I’m wondering whether he sees Obama as an easier target than some others might be for the GOP in ’08.  (See Clinton, Hillary).
Then again, DH tells me he doesn’t think Will is Machiavellian enough for this type of subtlety, so maybe he just likes Obama for President?