That is why Rush Limbaugh said this, about New York Times reporters who've been detained by the Mubarak government:

Ladies and gentlemen, it is being breathlessly reported that the Egyptian army -- Snerdley, have you heard this? The Egyptian army is rounding up foreign journalists. I mean, even two New York Times reporters were detained. Now, this is supposed to make us feel what, exactly? How we supposed to feel? Are we supposed to feel outrage over it? I don't feel any outrage over it. Are we supposed to feel anger? I don't feel any anger over this. Do we feel happy? Well -- uh -- do we feel kind of going like, "neh-neh-neh-neh"? I'm sure that your emotions are running the gamut when you hear that two New York Times reporters have been detained along with other journalists in Egypt. Remember now, we're supporting the people who are doing this.

And that is why Andrew Breitbart's "BIG PEACE" features a post by Hoover Institution research fellow Peter Schweizer headlined "I Don’t Have a Lot of Sympathy for Those Journalists Attacked in Egypt."

A journalist walking into a crowd of tens of thousands of protestors facing off against tens of thousands of other protestors is akin to the foolish hikers you read about from time to time who end up getting trapped in a snowstorm and have to be taken off the mountain by helicopter. They made a foolish decision to ascend a mountain and simply were not prepared.

Hah, dumb reporters, attempting to broadcast uncensored images from the scene of a historic uprising in the ancient capital city of the Middle East's most populated country. They're basically just like stupid hikers who went out in a storm without GPS. It is so self-indulgent of them to be beaten and shot at so that those of us sitting comfortably at home in front of computers can learn what's happening.

The horrid Piers Morgan actually had former New Republic owner and deposed editor in -chief Marty Peretz on his new show, live from Tel Aviv, to tell us of the mood in Israel. The mood in Israel is that journalists in Egypt are narcissists.

A word about this: Back when only inconsequential liberals (and Jack Shafer) cared that Marty Peretz was a frothing anti-Muslim bigot, he frequently complained that he was never invited on TV, even though he's a total expert on everything. Now that everyone knows he's an unhinged Arab-hater with anger issues, he is suddenly on CNN, pontificating on the Middle East. That's funny, right?

Anyway, yes, it's funny when Nick Kristof and Anderson Cooper parachute into war zones and disaster sites, but despite the fact that television personalities are narcissists, the vast majority of working journalists being attacked and detained in Egypt are not American evening news anchors with great hair. Hey, Swedish television correspondent who was stabbed in the stomach and Egyptian blogger who was beaten and jailed: Get over yourselves!

(Even Rush changed his tune when he learned that journalists from Fox News were beaten, because while it's really funny when liberals are mistreated by oppressive regimes, it is a tragedy when the same thing happens to people on "our side.")

Remember on Thursday when Mubarak told Christiane Amanpour, in a widely mocked formulation, that he wants to step down, but "if I resign today, there will be chaos." Well here's Gelb echoing that exact same "argument" in the Times lead Egypt story today:

“The worry on Mubarak’s part is that if he says yes to this, there will be more demands,” said Leslie H. Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. “And since he’s not dealing with a legal entity, but a mob, how does he know there won’t be more demands tomorrow?”

Why does this pro-democracy protest movement mob have to have so many demands?

Gelb may be surprised to learn that there is in fact a steering committee of opposition groups in Egypt that have even formed their own shadow legislature.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that Gelb has been quoted five times in the last month alone in the Times. Four of those times were in stories by a single reporter, Helene Cooper, who finds Gelb's rolodex impressive. From a story headlined, "Could a man be the White House social secretary?":

“What about some of the people resigning from Congress?” suggested Leslie H. Gelb, the president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, who himself has a pretty formidable Rolodex.

The crowd was the biggest since Tuesday, when a quarter-million turned out. A man sitting in a wheelchair was lifted -- wheelchair and all -- over the heads of the crowd and he pumped his arms in the air. Thousands prostrated in noon prayers and immediately after uttering the prayer's concluding "God's peace and blessings be upon you," they began chanting their message to Mubarak: "Leave! Leave! Leave!"

Egyptian Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi visited the square Friday morning and talked to protesters, the most prominent government official to do so in more than 10 days of unprecedented demonstrations demanding an end of Mubarak's nearly 30 year rule. Soldiers checked IDs to ensure those entering were not police in civilian clothes or ruling party members and performed body searches at the square's entrances, a sign that Egypt's most powerful institution was sanctioning the demonstration -- though Tantawi tried to convince those he spoke to end it.

Protesters labeled the rally the "day of leaving," a reference to their demand Mubarak go on Friday. Some held up signs reading, "Now!"

Mubarak insists he will serve out the remaining seven months of his term. He told ABC News that he wants to step down but that doing so would spark chaos, and he vowed not to leave Egypt.

The Obama administration said it was in talks with top Egyptian officials about the possibility of Mubarak immediately resigning, and an interim government forming before free and fair elections this year.

U.S. officials said the creation of a military-backed caretaker government was one of several ideas being discussed between the Egyptian regime and the Obama administration. The American officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the continuing sensitive talks.

Among the options was a proposal for Mubarak to resign immediately and cede power to a transitional government run by Vice President Omar Suleiman, the officials said.

Prominent reform advocate Mohamed ElBaradei called on Mubarak to "hear the clear voice coming from the people and leave in dignity."

"The quicker he leaves in dignity the better it is for everybody," said ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate who has become one of the leaders of Egypt's protest movement.

He told reporters Friday that there should be a yearlong transition to democracy under a temporary constitution with a presidential council of several people, including a military representative. During that year, a permanent constitution would be drawn up to guarantee freedom to form political parties -- currently highly restricted -- and other freedoms, and then elections could be held.

That scenario would mean pushing back presidential elections scheduled for September, but ElBaradei's camp said that timeframe was too rushed given the amount of legal restructuring needed to guarantee a fair vote. ElBaradei repeated his stance that he does not seek to be president himself.

One self-professed potential candidate -- Arab League chief Amr Moussa -- appeared in the square Friday, his convoy greeted by chants of "we want you as president, we want you as president." Moussa, previously a former foreign minister under Mubarak, has an elder statesman appeal for some Egyptians, boosted by the tough rhetoric he takes on Israel.

Asked earlier by France's Europe 1 radio if he would consider a role in the transitional government or eventually running for president, Moussa replied, "Why say no?"

The atmosphere was peaceful after the 48 hours of violence between pro- and anti-Mubarak crowds battling with rains of rock and concrete torn from the street and shields fashioned out of sheet metal from a construction site. Gangs backing Mubarak attacked journalists and human rights activists across Cairo Thursday, while others were detained by soldiers.

The pro-Mubarak crowds that have attacked demonstrators and foreign journalists did not have a visible presence in Tahrir on Friday. On the other side of Cairo, dozens of regime supporters carrying machetes and sticks set up an impromptu checkpoint on the ring-road highway encircling the city of 18 million, stopping cars to inspect them and ask for IDs. The roadblock appeared to be looking for protesters heading to Tahrir. One of the armed men wore a sign around his neck reading, "We are sorry, Mr. President."

In Tahrir, protesters formed their own cordon inside the military's to perform a secondary check of IDs and bags. Many of those arriving brought fresh bread, water, fruit and other supplies, and the atmosphere was relaxed. Long lines formed at tables of people handing out tea and bread. Many waved the Egyptian flag or chatted amicably with the soldiers. Women in full face veils and enveloping robes stood close to women in blue jeans and tight tops.

Around the square were makeshift clinics, set up in the entranceways of stores, including a KFC. At one, a man received an injection in his arm. Above another was the sign of an interlocking crescent and cross.

Around 5,000 of the protesters prostrated themselves in prayer at noon. Though men and women prayed separately as is traditional, the women knelt in a block parallel to the men instead of behind them out of sight or in a separate area entirely as takes place in most Egyptian mosques. After uttering the concluding "God's peace and blessings be upon you" of the prayer, they began the chant: "Leave! Leave! Leave!"

A number of celebrities of Egyptian cinema and TV joined the march, including Sherihan, a beloved screen beauty from the 1980s and early 1990s who largely disappeared from the public eye because of health issues. "This is really a popular revolution, it's civilized and honorable," she told Al-Jazeera TV.

"We're calling on this to be the largest protest ever," said Mahmoud Salem, a youth activist and blogger. "We are hoping it will be the last one." He said that during Thursday's turmoil, his car was attacked by regime supporters as he and four friends tried to deliver supplies to the square. "It was like a zombie movie," he said, describing the rioters smashing the car windows and ripping off the side mirrors until he and his colleagues fled from the car.

Ayman Nour, a former presidential candidate who is a member of a new committee formed by various factions to conduct any future negotiations on the protesters' behalf once Mubarak steps down, said that he hopes the demonstration "leads to Mubarak's departure."

"The chaos is organized by his ruling party," Nour said. "There is a fifth column inside the regime that led the looting and violence."

The committee and the protesters have refused any negotiations with the government over the country's transition until Mubarak leaves.

Suleiman said Thursday said he had invited the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood to participate in any talks -- a stunning concession to a group that the regime considers its worst enemy and has cracked down on ferociously in the past years.

The Brotherhood has rushed to take a stronger role in the unprecedented protests that erupted 10 days ago, led by more secular young activists demanding the ouster of Mubarak. The Brotherhood's strength was on display in the pitched battles in Wednesday and Thursday against government supporters who attacked the protesters' camp in Cairo's central Tahrir Square before they were driven from the square by the pro-democracy forces.

Brothers -- distinguishable by their close-cropped beards -- dominated the front lines, often lining up to pray for "victory or martyrdom," before throwing themselves into the fray, hurling stones, sticks and firebombs at the attackers while shouting "God is great."

Amr Said, a 41-year-old chemist who said he is a Brotherhood supporter, told The Associated Press in Tahrir Square Friday morning that "our instructions are not to assume a role that is too visible at the moment, and to get along with all other groups including and leftist and liberals.

"We also refrain from making our typically brotherhood chants and when one of us does, we quickly shut him up," he said.

The potential of the Brotherhood gaining greater power has clearly weighed on the United States as it presses Mubarak to bow out. U.S. officials have said they want the transition to democracy to be stable to prevent any group from imposing its ideology.

The editor of the Muslim Brotherhood's website told the AP that policemen stormed its office Friday morning and arrested 10 to 15 of its journalists. Abdel-Galil el-Sharnoubi said that the website was also being blocked.

AP correspondent Maggie Michael contributed to this report.

That's what the Egyptian protests against U.S.-backed dictator Hosni Mubarak really represent for us: a poignant demand that we actually embody our democratic creed -- a demand whose response shows an American government desperate to avoid walking its talk.

Remember, President Obama told a Cairo audience in 2009 that America would unequivocally back Egyptians' democratic aspirations. Citing our nation's history being "born out of revolution against an empire," he said: "We will support (democracy) everywhere."

That declaration, while admirable, was hardly courageous because it was presented as a foreign-policy version of an American campaign promise -- that is, it was issued by a politician who never really expected to be asked for attendant action. In fact, the Obama administration was so certain it wouldn't have to embody its platitudes that it was actively slashing grants for democracy-building in Egypt while maintaining military aid to the Mubarak dictatorship.

As if deliberately bragging about this disconnect between pro-democratic rhetoric and undemocratic reality, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Arab television: "I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family."

Those "friends," of course, fired "USA"-labeled tear gas canisters at the very democratic protesters America promised to support. As the demonstrations persisted, Obama discarded the bromides of his Cairo speech and refused to press for Mubarak's immediate resignation. He then dispatched Vice President Joe Biden to both praise the despot as an "ally" and tell reporters to "not refer to him as a dictator."

Following suit, Clinton said that despite America's stated commitment to democracy, "we're not advocating any specific outcome." When asked whether the administration was at least backing away from her BFF Mubarak, Clinton was reduced to Rumsfeldian incoherence, insisting that "we do not want to send any message about backing forward or backing back."

This left Egypt's Nobel Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei to humiliate our equivocating leaders by stating the obvious: "The American government cannot ask the Egyptian people to believe that a dictator who has been in power for 30 years will be the one to implement democracy."

Despite the indisputable truth of ElBaradei's words, politicians and pundits have mostly defended the administration's behavior. From neoconservatives to Obama loyalists, the mediascape teems with those arguing that though we want democracy, we might have to continue propping up autocrats because democracy could elect regimes we dislike.

But that's the rub: Just as you cannot be sorta pregnant, you cannot kinda support democracy, and only when it does what you want. That's not "supporting democracy"; that's imperialism. Indeed, the ideal of self-governance is as uncompromising as America's views on terrorism: You're either with democracy, or you're against it -- and as Martin Luther King noted, we are too often against it.

Echoing President Kennedy's aphorism that "those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable," King warned in 1967 that while our country once "initiated so much of the revolutionary spirit of the modern world," we were becoming "the arch anti-revolutionaries." That reality has sowed predictable anti-Americanism among populations we've helped subjugate.

Now, though, we may see some much-needed change. With Cairo protesters so blatantly exposing our hypocrisy, we could end up shamed into finally living our democratic values -- and fulfilling Dr. King's dream.

Oh, Kenneth.

Unspoken rule No. 1: Don't make jokes about tragedies. You've done this sort of thing before -- mixing up bad puns and profundity. It's oh-so-tempting to try to make light of grim situations, sad stories and global traumas. Don't try to make it funny. That's what comedians are for. Kenneth Cole is a fashion designer known for sharp-looking dress shoes, not sharp wit.

Unspoken rule No. 2: Don't make marketing gimmicks out of tragedies. This is just like rule No. 1 but more directed at Kenneth Cole. When the world's attention is fixated on one event, sometimes it's not the best idea to jump up and down with the "Look at me!" routine. The unrest in Egypt isn't the Super Bowl. It's a troubling story with historical implications. Nobody wants to hear about your spring slacks.

As Twitter is wont to do, a spoof account emerged immediately. Using the handle @KennethColePR, an anonymous tweeter -- probably a comedian -- put Kenneth Cole's insensitivity into perspective. Here are the highlights.

After the rest of the Internet exploded over the tweet, Kenneth Cole himself offered an apology on Facebook:

I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I've dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.

Attempt, indeed.