Request denied.

A Limbaugh spokesman said that California mattress company Sleep Train asked to restart a “voiced endorsement” from Limbaugh that it had publicly cut off last week. The company said at the time that it “does not condone such negative comments toward any person.”…

Sleep Train’s departure from the program had been billed by some observers as particularly significant because the mattress retailer had been with Limbaugh show for 25 years. Yet the tone of Sleep Train’s withdrawal statement last Friday hinted it might not be pulling out for the long run…

Limbaugh spokesman Brian Glicklich on Thursday forwarded a copy of an email that he said had been sent to Sleep Train Chief Executive Dale Carlsen. In it, Glicklich wrote that Limbaugh had personally received the company’s requests to resume advertising on his show.

“Unfortunately,” Glicklich wrote, “your public comments were not well received by our audience, and did not accurately portray either Rush Limbaugh’s character or the intent of his remarks. Thus, we regret to inform you that Rush will be unable to endorse Sleep Train in the future.”

Via the Daily Rushbo, he talked about this a bit on yesterday’s show, claiming that two sponsors had already asked to return and that “one of them is practically begging to come back.” I don’t know why Sleep Train would pull ads if the prospect of losing Rush forever made them nervous enough to cave this quickly. They’ve alienated the right by abandoning him and irritated the left by going squishy over it. Have we learned nothing from l’affaire Komen, my friends? Rule one of inserting yourself into a hot-button public debate: Once you pick a side, stick to it. Sheesh.