Talking Points Memo has the hoary details on Rush Limbaugh’s racist fling with the “Magic Negro” meme. Rush has a slew of songs done by an associate which are apparently done in an imitation of Al Sharpton, several which are in reference to Barack Obama. One of them is the infamous parody of the song, “Puff, the Magic Dragon.”

How can you tell that it’s racist, and not simply satire? Simple: Rush goes to great lengths to note that the L.A. Times said “Magic Negro” first. Both in his speaking it and in the song version, he makes certain that the blame for the expression is laid carefully at the door of the L.A. Times columnist–and then he goes to town in an orgy of racial insults. If Rush thought that there was nothing wrong with the expression, then he would simply say it and have no awareness of the sensibilities involved. By first invoking the L.A. Times, he carefully establishes that the source was somewhere else, and he is just repeating what they said. It is obviously an excuse for doing what Limbaugh clearly knows is inappropriate; he found the justification, the loophole for going on a spree of racism that he really wants to express.

The primary difference between Limbaugh and Imus is premeditation. Imus let slip his racial slur, as part of his normal speech. It just came out. Limbaugh, on the other hand, is more savvy. He is fully aware of his racist bent, he knows that it is inexcusable, and knows that in order to let it fly, he must find a justification for it.

So, of course, Imus gets canned, and Limbaugh, the fat, cigar-sucking, drug abusing, Viagra-downing out-and-out racist, establishes job security. It’s all about how well you know you’re scum, and making sure you cover your tracks.