President Obama Backs Student In Wake Of Rush Limbaugh's 'Slut' Remarks

President Obama Friday personally called embattled Georgetown Law student Sandra Fluke and offered her his personal support after being called a "slut" and "prostitute" publicly by conservative talk-radio personality Rush Limbaugh, reports the Los Angeles Times today.

Limbaugh directed Wednesday's invectives at the third-year law student after she testified before an all-Democratic mock panel concerning contraceptive insurance coverage. An amendment proposed by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) would've rolled back federal insurance rules requiring that insurance providers cover contraceptives. Fluke had been previously denied a February opportunity to testify during a congressional committee hearing. Blunt's amendment was voted down Thursday.

According to White House spokesman Jay Carney Friday, the President "wanted to express his disappointment that she has been the subject of inappropriate personal attacks, and thank her for exercising her rights as a citizen to speak out on an issue of public policy."

After arguing on his Wednesday show that Fluke had argued that she "must be paid to have sex," Limbaugh asked "What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute."

Limbaugh continued the attack Thursday, saying, "So Miss Fluke, if we are going to . . . pay for you to have sex, we want something for it. We want you to post the videos online so we can all watch."

Concerning Limbaugh's initial remarks, Fluke said during a Friday-morning appearance on NBC's "TODAY" that she went from being initially stunned by the remarks to "very upset" that Limbaugh made the remarks on the first day of Women's History Month.

"The reaction that they are having to what I said yesterday about Susan Fluke - or Sandra Fluke, whatever her name is - the Georgetown student who went before a congressional committee and said she's having so much sex, she's going broke buyign contraceptives and wants us to buy them," Limbaugh said Thursday. "I said 'Well, what would you call someone who wants us to pay for her to have sex? What would you call that woman? You'd call 'em a slut, a prostitute or whatever.'"