Obama vs. the GOP vs. Rush Limbaugh

Probably the top talker of the past couple of days is the White House's new message that Rush Limbaugh is the "de facto" leader of the Republican Party and that no one within any conservative circles will stand up to him.
The mainstream media caught wind of this story after the actual leader of the Republican Party, Michael Steele, said some vicious things about Limbaugh on the "Today Show" only to take them back and apologize later in the day.
Democrats, seizing on the opportunity to push all Republicans into a camp with someone that enjoys even lower approval ratings than George Bush, lumped Michael Steele in with a long line of Republicans who've recently said incendiary things about the controversial talk show host, only to take it back and issue an apology usually within days after their quotes are made public.
David Plouffe, Obama's former campaign manager, even took it upon himself to pen an op-ed in the Washington Post openly challenging Republicans to buck Limbaugh. It's shrewd politics by the Obama administration, as very few congressional Republicans may actually step up to balk Mr. Limbaugh lest they offend their increasingly conservative constituencies, however, this will also make them seem more out of step with mainstream America, many of whom still see Limbaugh as a laregely polarizing figure.
However, if there are any Republicans out there that do step up to Limbaugh and do so in a way that isn't politically embarrassing, they could find themselves leading a new coalition of moderate Republicans that may hold the key to a slow but steady return to power.