Why doesn't journalist Zev Chafets just start an online fan page for Rush Limbaugh? Or become his caddy or park Rush's many cars? That way he'd be able to express his deeply felt admiration for the mighty right-wing talker without taking up valuable space in major newspapers.

You'll remember in July, Chafets spent nearly 8,000 words genuflected before Limbaugh in the pages of the New York Times magazine, where he effortlessly whitewashed Limbaugh's hate speech and portrayed him as a brilliant political strategist. (Y'know, the brilliant strategist who last winter announced John McCain could not be the GOP nominee.)

Today, Chafets recycles the same talking points and peddles them off to the Los Angeles Times for a op-ed, where once again the Limbaugh crush is advertised for all to see. (Chafets received an email from Rush!) In the Los Angeles Times, Chafets again proclaims Limbaugh's political smarts, bows his his unparalleled GOP power, claims he just may sway the election in McCain's favor and, or course, dismisses Limbaugh's critics as people who don't actually listen to his show and can't appreciate the uncommon wisdom that Limbaugh dispenses.

Actually, Media Matters listens to evey minute of every Limbaugh broadcast and one of things Media Matters heard last week was when the talker said this about the Democratic nominee for president:

“He's Arab. You know, he's from Africa. He's from Arab parts of Africa. ... [H]e's not African-American. The last thing that he is is African-American.”

Yet for some reason in his Times column, which specifically addresses how Limbaugh talks about Obama, Chevets plays dumb about Limbaugh's race-based attack on the Democrat.