One of the rules of celebrity has been that theres no such thing as bad publicity it all builds name familiarity and, with that, fame and riches.

Tell it to Rush Limbaugh.

To be sure, the no bad publicity rule has worked well for him until the past week or so. Thats when the radio talkster, self-appointed standard-bearer of the extreme right, sank up to his neck in hot water over his crude criticism of a woman who had the gall to express her opinion about birth control funding.

Most have probably heard the story by now.

The 30-year-old woman, who is earning her law degree at Georgetown, one of the nations top Catholic universities, testified in a congressional hearing about contraception medical expense coverage.

Like the rest of us, she is deserving of her own opinion on this and other subjects. But the ensuing flap wasnt about her opinion, or yours, or ours, but about our societys increasingly uncivil discourse. For Limbaugh didnt attack her views so much as he attacked her personally, in scathing and repeated commentary over the airwaves.

A sample: What does it say about a college coed … who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants be be paid to have sex.

Whoa. Have we reached the point in our civil debate where we start calling people sluts and prostitutes because we disagree with their political views?

Certainly there is a worthy debate about what should be covered under medical insurance policies. There are strongly held arguments on both sides of the issue, but dismissing someone as a slut and a prostitute just because of her view is simply a barnyard argument.

Of course, people on both sides of the political debate have been guilty of name calling. This has happened throughout American political history. Indeed, some pundits are seeking to divert attention with that very argument, that everybodys doing it or our favorite, The left does it, too.

Neither argument makes it right or healthy. Or lucrative, if Limbaughs experience sets an example.

As his advertisers began to jump ship, Limbaugh issued an apology that came across to many as less than sincere.

My choice of words was not the best and in an attempt to be humorous, I created a national stir, he said on his website. I sincerely apologize for the insulting word choices.

That wasnt enough for some of his backers, though. About a dozen advertisers had pulled from his show by early this week.

If we are to learn anything from this little bit of political theater, we need to reaffirm that this is a nation of many views with a long, proud history of political debate and dialogue.

America has some very difficult political choices ahead. Hopefully, we can debate these choices on their merits and with logic. Meanwhile, we could use a little less bombast and coarseness. As for Rush, we offer a little parent-style advice for the next time hes tempted to characterize a women he perceives as a foe: If you cant say this about your mother, your sister, your grandmother, just dont say it at all.