Here's the full text of President Obama's answer to a question by USA TODAY's Aamer Madhani about Rush Limbaugh's apology for calling a law student "a slut," the talk show host's subsequent loss of sponsors, and the nature of political discourse.
"You know, I'm not going to comment on what sponsors decide to do. I'm not going to comment on either the economics or the politics of it. I don't know what's in Rush Limbaugh's heart, so I'm not going to comment on the sincerity of his apology.
"What I can comment on is the fact that all decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don't have any place in the public discourse.
"And, you know, the reason I called Ms. Fluke is because I thought about Malia and Sasha, and one of the things I want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about; even ones I may not agree with them on. I want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way. And I don't want them attacked or -- or called horrible names because they're being good citizens.
"And I wanted Sandra to know that -- that I thought her parents should be proud of her, and that we want to send a message to all our young people that being part of a democracy involves argument and disagreements and debate, and we want you to be engaged. And there's a way to do it that doesn't involve you being demeaned and insulted, particularly when you're a private citizen."
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