In a March 2 New York Times article, reporter Adam Nagourney wrote that Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele “apologized to Rush Limbaugh on Monday after describing him in a television interview over the weekend as an 'entertainer' who made incendiary and sometimes ugly remarks, party officials said.” But while Nagourney also noted that “Democrats -- including Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff -- sought to portray Mr. Limbaugh as the new face of the Republican Party,” he did not mention that Steele is not the only Republican to recently backpedal after criticizing Limbaugh, even though Emanuel referenced another example just two days earlier.

During the March 1 edition of CBS' Face the Nation, Emanuel stated of Limbaugh, "[W]henever a Republican criticizes him, they have to run back and apologize to him and say they were misunderstood." Emanuel also said of Limbaugh, “When a Republican did attack him, he was -- clearly had to turn around and come back and basically said that he's apologizing and was wrong.”

Indeed, as blogger Greg Sargent noted, after Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) stated that “it's easy if you're Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh or even sometimes Newt Gingrich to stand back and throw bricks,” Gingrey issued a statement in which he sought to “clarify” his comments. Gingrey also asserted in the statement that “on so many of these things, I see eye-to-eye with Rush Limbaugh. Regardless of what yesterday's headline may have read, I never told Rush to back off.” From Gingrey's statement:

As long as I am in the Congress, I will continue to fight for and defend our sacred values. I have actively opposed every bailout, every rebate check, every so called “stimulus.” And on so many of these things, I see eye-to-eye with Rush Limbaugh. Regardless of what yesterday's headline may have read, I never told Rush to back off. I regret and apologize for the fact that my comments have offended and upset my fellow conservatives -- that was not my intent. I am also sorry to see that my comments in defense of our Republican Leadership read much harsher than they actually were intended, but I recognize it is my responsibility to clarify my own comments.

Now more than ever, we need to articulate a clear conservative message that distinguishes our values and our approach from those of liberal Democrats who are seeking to move our nation in the wrong direction. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Newt Gingrich, and other conservative giants are the voices of the conservative movement's conscience. Everyday, millions and millions of Americans -- myself included -- turn on their radios and televisions to listen to what they have to say, and we are inspired by their words and by their determination. At the end of the day, every member of the conservative movement, from our political commentators and thinkers to our elected officials, share an important and common purpose in advancing the cause of liberty, reigning in a bloated federal government, and defending our traditional family values.

From the March 1 edition of CBS' Face the Nation:

EMANUEL: Going forward, the president has been very clear. He called on the national service bill that Senator [Edward] Kennedy [D-MA] and Senator [Orrin] Hatch, Republican for Utah, had proposed. He has been clear about wanting a stem-cell legislation that a number -- like Senator [Arlen] Specter, Republican from Pennsylvania, as well as Senator [Tom] Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa. So we will continue to reach out, as we did in the fiscal summit this -- earlier this week, as we will in the health care summit on Thursday.

SCHIEFFER: Let me ask you this question --

EMANUEL: But our goal, our goal, Bob, is to continue to reach out. And it's our desire that the Republicans would work with us and try to be constructive, rather than adopt the philosophy of somebody like Rush Limbaugh, who's praying for failure.

SCHIEFFER: Rush Limbaugh. We've talked about Newt Gingrich a lot this morning, and now you bring up Rush Limbaugh. Who do you think now speaks for the Republican Party?

EMANUEL: You just named him. It was Rush Limbaugh. I mean, he has laid out his vision, in my view, and he said it clearly, and I compliment him for that. He's been very upfront and I compliment him for that, because he's not hiding.

He's asked for President Obama and called for President Obama to fail. That's his view. And that's what he's enunciated. And whenever a Republican criticizes him, they have to run back and apologize to him, and say they were misunderstood.

He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party. And he has been upfront about what he views, and hasn't stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure. He said it. And I compliment him for his honesty, but that's their philosophy that is enunciated by Rush Limbaugh. And I think that's the wrong philosophy for America, because what Americans want us to do and what President Obama has been very clear about is work together, setting our goals. We may take different roads to get to that goal, but be clear on what we have to do to build this country, by investing in our people, make -- changing the health care system, having an energy independence policy that clearly weans America off its dependence on foreign oil --

SCHIEFFER: Do you really think he's that important, that other Republicans are paying that much attention to him?

EMANUEL: Well, he was given the keynote, basically, at the Conservative Caucus to speak. When a Republican did attack him, he was -- clearly had to turn around and come back and basically said that he's apologizing and was wrong. And I do think he's an intellectual force, which is why the Republicans pay such attention to him.