No one in the debate about health insurance coverage of birth control has concerned himself with libido-related concerns except, notably, Rush Limbaugh. It was he who made the leap from Sandra Fluke’s insistence that health insurance should cover birth control to his conclusion that Fluke is, therefore and obviously, a “slut.” (A far shorter leap is required to infer that sitting alone in a room talking for three hours a day into a large, golden microphone millimeters from one’s oral cavity undoubtedly allows the mind to wander.)

Alas, and sadly for Huckabee, his introduction of the libido and all subsequent mental associations not only distracted from his essential message but also placed him squarely in the frame with Limbaugh. One is justified in wondering: Why do these men concern themselves so much with what women do with their, ahem, “reproductive systems”?

Does Huckabee really think that Democrats are wedded to the idea that women can’t function without “Uncle Sugar” offering medications to thwart ovulation and fertilization? Even Uncle Sugar is creepy. No doubt intended as a clever twist on Uncle Sam, he sounds like the lurking uncle who trades chocolate for a smooch on the upstairs landing.

Huckabee is usually better than this. His sane, jocular temperament is what won him fans and plaudits. Recall his saying, “I’m a conservative, but I’m not mad at anybody about it.” His RNC comments, by contrast, sounded like someone priming the base at the expense of sound thinking.