Sarah P. teaches this to her children (and you teach it to your children and grandchildren, too, don’t you, dear reader?): “Name calling by anyone is just unnecessary.” And retard is a very bad name for one of Sarah P.’s key political props God’s own children, so Sarah Pee can take deep umbrage if someone calls someone else a “f’ing retard”. But apparently the rules for when “f’ing retard” constitutes objectionable name calling are even more complex, and less easily understood, than the infield fly rule.

According to Sarah P., using the word “retard” is derogatory to developmentally challenged children only if it’s applied to people one does not agree with:

This morning on Fox News, host Chris Wallace asked Sarah Palin about her public call for White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to resign after reports surfaced that he called a group of liberal activists “f—ing retarded.” Palin reiterated her call for Emanuel to “step down” and explained that while she’s not “politically correct” or “one to be a word police,” she was committed to “reaching out and to helping the special needs community.” But when Wallace asked Palin about Rush Limbaugh’s endorsement of the language, Palin said she was fine with Limbaugh’s satirical comments. “I didn’t hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with ‘f-ing retards,’” she said. “There is a big difference there”:
PALIN: I agree with Rush Limbaugh. He was using satire to politically correct —

WALLACE: He used the “r” word.

PALIN: He used satire. Name-calling by anyone, I teach this to my children and you teach it to your children and grandchildren, too. Name calling by anyone is just unnecessary. It just wastes time. Let’s speak to the issues and — [...]

PALIN: I didn’t hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with ‘f-ing retards’ and we did know that Rahm Emanuel has been reported, did say that. there is a big difference there. Again, name-calling, using language that is insensitive, by anyone, male, female, Republican, Democrat, is unnecessary. It’s inappropriate. Let’s all just grow up.

So, as best as anyone can tell from this developmentally challenged lady’s statement, even Sarah P. would not take any objection to the following statement: “Who does this dumb-shit lady think we are, effing retards?” (Cliff’s Notes adds this helpful gloss: note that the term, which would be objectionable if applied to those one disagrees with, is being applied to oneself and one’s cohorts. Hence, unexceptionable. Also, being used in the context of political satire. Hence, doubly unexceptionable.)