The Word 'Teabagging' Proves Too Much For CNN, MSNBC Anchors

In Journalism 101, right after you learn about what a "nut graph" is, your professor sits you down and teaches you the one iron-clad rule of the trade ...

If you ever have an opportunity to repeatedly use the usually-dirty word "Teabagging" for legitimate journalistic purposes, you must do it, with vigor.

Anchors for CNN and MSNBC took that to heart yesterday, as they covered the anti-tax "Tea Party" protests across the country. From the finger-wagging Fox News:

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper interspersed "teabagging" references with analyst David Gergen's more staid commentary on how Republicans are still "searching for their voice."

"It's hard to talk when you're teabagging," Cooper explained. Gergen laughed, but Cooper kept a straight face.

MSNBC's David Shuster weaved a tapestry of "Animal House" humor Monday as he filled in for Countdown host Keith Olbermann.

The protests, he explained, amount to "Teabagging day for the right wing and they are going nuts for it."

He described the parties as simultaneously "full-throated" and "toothless," and continued: "They want to give President Obama a strong tongue-lashing and lick government spending." Shuster also noted how the protesters "whipped out" the demonstrations this past weekend.

For the record, we're disgusted by this sophomoric behavior by Cooper and Shuster. If they can't cover teabagging without all these gags, then they need to swallow their pride, wipe their hands, and leave the task for someone who can accomodate more journalistic integrity. Teabagging is a serious issue, and if these two sweaty anchors can't handle it, they should be lowered into some lesser positions at their respective networks.

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Update: Apparently, Rachel Maddow got into the action as well.