I always hate to give in to the obvious, and God knows I tried hard not to, but I honestly couldn’t find anything dumber to talk about than this whole spat the American left and right have gotten into lately over the use of the word “retard.”

If you aren’t up to speed on your news, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recently characterized liberal Democratic pressure groups as “f—ing retarded” for airing ads opposing the Senate health care bill. Sarah Palin then went on the warpath — doubtlessly her favorite activity — calling for Emanuel’s resignation, obliquely referencing her son Trig, who has Down’s syndrome. Rush Limbaugh responded to the affair by quoting Emanuel, saying that he had properly called them “retards,” and when called on it, Palin’s response was that Rush Limbaugh “was using satire.”

It’s not often that I pass up an opportunity to rip on Sarah Palin, but she’s right that the word “retard” shouldn’t be thrown around. The problem is that she’s definitely not the right messenger. First, she made her career on attaching the label “anti-American” to anything she doesn’t like — the same thing she accused Emanuel of doing. Second, she so blatantly favors fellow conservatives that she’s willing to put her son, the same son she used as a battering ram against Emanuel, on the altar to Rush Limbaugh.

What scares me, though, is how much coverage this has gotten and why. The media has jumped all over Retardgate because it’s a distraction from policy —where no one side is entirely right or entirely wrong — and because given her propensity for unintentional buffoonery, as the Hittites might say, reporters run after her like puppies.