Did obama make a mistake calling out rushbwana?

They are so jealous.

"Wish he'd call me out," muttered Glenn Beck into his second and third chins.

Hannity screwed up his tiny, Irish choir-boy lips, "It started on my show!"

They've turned green about Obama actually saying Rush Limbaugh's name outloud in the media. The president was responding to Rush's remark on the Hannity  show that he does not wish success for Obama's America.

That a sitting president (who shows little propensity for sitting) would mention a talk entertainer by name achieves everything a talk entertainer could want to achieve.

We were all there Monday morning to hear what Limbaugh would say -- Obama's  remark must have made the whole Winter book for Rush.

Big Pants was popping his buttons all morning. His voice dripping with snide, he crowed, "Now this is the great unifier. This is the man who’s going to unify everybody and usher in a new era of bi-partisanship and love.”

He proclaimed himself “Senator Rush Limbaugh, the man to whom you should not be listening, according to President Obama.”

Overstatement was rife among right-wing pundits, whose relevance, and clout (but not volume) has been dulled of late. Many among the media-media wondered aloud whether it was a mistake by Obama.

“He’s the president of the United States and all Rush Limbaugh is is a radio talk show host,” said the always media-handy, Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers Magazine. “Once again, Rush Limbaugh raises the stature of our industry to the world stage.”

The Radio Equalizer's Brian Maloney, with great authority, told a reporter it was a political blunder of “epic proportions.”

“Obama has now basically said that ‘my key political opposition is Rush Limbaugh,’” said Maloney, and added that Limbaugh’s ratings probably went through the roof.

Professor Thomas Patterson of Harvard’s Kennedy School told the Boston Herald, Obama " elevates” Limbaugh as a figure. “It strikes me that the president of the United States singles you out, somehow that means you are a counter-figure on some level. That’s a mistake.”

But what most Americans heard (if anything) was that Limbaugh put the schmutz on the new president and his earliest moves to step up to what most Americans believe is a crisis of biblical proportions.

Millions dialed in to hear whatinhell Limbaugh would say next. He'll ride on this for weeks... as Obama, gets senatorial advise and consent, and passes his stimulus package.

Limbaugh's are good radio ratings tactics, but not a great political strategy.

Obama is enjoying some (pardon the word) historic popularity at the moment, and his mention of Big Pants as an obstructionist helps isolate the pissed-off politics of the right. 

Rush Limbaugh is like an angry Chihuahua with his teeth sunk into the postman's leg. Amusing to watch, but hardly the one to ask about the mail delivery.

Comments

[AuthenticAndrew]

The truth is it scare people to think that the POTUS is peering in on the big love fest they're having on AM radio. They want to live in a buble where everything they say is the truth and they need never be proven wrong.

They want the president to be a classic father figure who just reads books and turns in early while they stay up late like children playing with their radios and claiming their know the real "truth" wether it be how there's life on venus or how global warming is a hoax knowing they will never be tested in the real world just as kid knows that despite all his bright ideas he's not responsible for puting food on the table.

The truth is that Rush influences conservative opinion, and conservative opinion dictates how much maneuverability Republican lawmakers have in a compromise. If Rush is going on day after day trying to destroy America hicks in Alabama are going to ulitmately demand that their state's elected officials destroy America. If you want to affect public opinion you have to start at the source.

[Saxitoxin]

cute post, pretty much agree with it, though it is kinda warmed-over Ron & Don 1-26 episode

anyway speaking of a yapping little Chihuahua biting someone's leg ...

Rush Limbaugh : Barack Obama ::
Michael Hood : Dori Monson ::

???

(or ... Richard Lee : Greg Nickels --- i guess the town crazies break the L/R paradigm?)

[Brian]

That being said and mostly true I must say that Rush's plan for business and payroll tax-cuts sounds like a much better fix for the economy than does the Democrat's stimulus that's loaded with pork. I really don't think that $50 million for the National Endowment of the Arts will do much to spur on the economy, only 7% of the infrastructure money is slated to be spent by September.
I thought this was an EMERGENCY?

Oh well, let's see what the rookie and his minions come up with next. I still have my job (for now).

[Habu]

Emergency? Alaska viaduct =++ gast tax.

Nuff said?

[Brian]

Letsee, the first Microsoft olayoffs ever, Weyerhaeuser closing 2 mills, job cuts at Intel, Starbucks, IBM, Sun, Sprint, Home Depot, the list goes on and on. Obama promised to attack the economic problem "on day one" but now they hope to get something passed by mid-February?
$200 million to fix up the capitol mall, $200 million for contraceptives, heck at least the condom & turf suppliers will have a good year.

[Coiler]

So after 1 week, 8 years of Busher is all President Obama's fault? You guys were silent when Bush said the economy was sound a few months ago.

[Saxitoxin]

Michael Hood will be back to biting Dori's leg soon enough. Dori will take it because he hardly knows Michael Hood exists. This mostly happens in Michael Hoods sexual fantasy world which includes Anne Bremener, and Geov Parrish. R & D are in there somewhere too.

[Saxitoxin]

Ummm ... I did NOT write the above post.

Whomever you are, I know it's fun to poke a stick into the crazy cage, but come up with your own name to do it.

[sparky]

oh god they are taxing gast now....crap

[Saxitoxin]

I DID write the post before last one. I suspect one of the crazies who inhabit this place is playing with names. Geov?

[bert]

I'm aghast.

[Saxitoxin Original Seasoning]

Whomever you are, I like your style so feel free to go ahead and keep using my name.

[Marly]

The Republicans have no leader so Rush has filled the gap. He represents the extreme edges of the party platforms, and his professional career demands that he decry his philosophy in the most inflammatory, extreme way possible. The Republicans have profited greatly in the past with this unholy marriage of entertainment and politics, but it is biting them now. Not a winner with Americans at this point in time. It's a treacherous conundrum for the GOP when most people could use some light at the end of the tunnel, AKA "hope."

[Saxitoxin Original Seasoning]

And oh yeah, use the spell check a little more. ;)

[Saxitoxin]

Gotcha.
Not even Richard Lee was as sexually obsessed as Michael Hood. As I remember, Lee was kind of asexual. Why do you think Michael Hood is so creepy with Anne Bremner? She's flirtatious on the Factor- do you think Michael Hood hates O'Reilly because he's JEALOUS of his attention to Anne?

[The Other Kevin]

President Barry "Bribemaster" Bam-Bam Shows His Inner Muslim --- He Likes His Brides Young!

[AuthenticAndrew]

These threads are being overrun by angry conservatives pining for the Clinton blowjob days. Sorry guys, it's not the late 90's. There's no contract with America. You have no hope. Please just go away. Come back in four years.

[Duffman]

Please try to stay on topic as much as possible.

[Habu]

oh god they are taxing gast now....crap

It was only a matter of time.

[The Other Kevin]

I thought the topic was mudslinging and name calling?

Admittedly I only skimmed the originating post but it didn't exactly seem like a cerebral,
scrabbling-for-page-space-in-Rolling-Stone kind of commentary.

To borrow from another poster, it struck me as more of a public access TV rant by the village loon.

[chucks]

Marly
I am sorry you died. My wife and grand daughter cried their eyes out.

[N in Seattle]

Rush is like kleenex, saran wrap, aspirin, ketchup, ... a brand name that has come to represent the generic product.

Yes, Sean and Glenn and Michael (and Dori and John and the other local bloviators) occupy points in space that aren't equivalent to Rush's, but otherwise what's the difference?

[Duffman]

...difference? About at least a hundred lbs!

[AuthenticAndrew]

The Other Kevin, your post didn't strike me as particularly intelligent or well thought out. Your post came off as if it were written by a nobody who imagines he could run a succesful blog the likes of Daily Kos if he wanted but in reality lacks any of the needed talent or motivation to ever do so. Those who can't criticize instead.

[Saxitoxin]

Rush is caught in a hard place. He can't love Obama, and it might not work so well to hate him.

[The Other Kevin]

Andy -

If sufficiently motivated I could "run" a blog/online diary? Errr, sure.

If sufficiently motivated I could also fling my poop at the moon.

I desire to do neither but still have a good laugh at those who do either.

Pull your panties out of your pooper, Andy. It's just a sparsely commented local blog where the village loon pounds out his daily diatribe - it's the 21st century version of the crazy old dude on the street corner. This one is sufficiently weird that it attracts a handful of repeat gawkers. It's a throwaway little thing, nothing serious. If you keep huffing and puffing you may faint.

[chucks]

Saxitoxin
At this point in time, Rush just needs to keep it policy and issue. I think that he is smart enough to play it conservative for now.
As time goes on, Obama will make stupid mistakes. When that time comes, Rush will be ready.

[Saxitoxin]

True, Chucks, but even conservatives have got to know when to hold 'em, when to fold 'em.

[Saxitoxin Original Seasoning]

I don't know whom you are using my old name, but I still got to agree with you, Saxi.

[rozskat]

Gee Brian, two hundred million for the mall and another two hundred million for contraceptives is chump change compared to twelve billion a month for Iraq. Where in the hell were you when that was going on? I guess wars are not a waste are they?

[Saxitoxin Fast Acting Dose]

ACHTUNG! lol ... actually neither the most recent "Saxitoxin" or "Saxitoxin Original Seasoning" are me, however, I do find it amusing that Mike and his sidecar sidekick Geov's "dori underwear sniffer" blog have turned into Mike having conversations with himself using the names of different commenters.

Kind of a metaphor for sumthin' ... ;)

Did that final screw finally fall out? ;)

Anyway, I'm enjoying the show, Mikey and Geov-Luv, keep it comin'!

[chucks]

But war is constitutionally the governments job.
Providing birth control to third world countries is not.
If those are good projects, then introduce the bills, debate them and then vote on them.
That skank speaker of the house got spanked by Obama for trying to slip them in.
That warms my heart.

[chucks]

Hey all of you saxitoxin guys, Didn't I read some place years ago that Sadam had you?

[Saxitoxin Fast Acting Dose]

No ... Saddam had s**in. The CIA had saxitoxin up until Nixon who made them dispose of it, but Carter let them have it again.

[thothman]

Chucks, your kidding right? War is the job of the govt? I thought that defending the country was the govts obligation. Not fighting wars for the mere sake of it. It is hard to see how fighting a war in iraq has anything to do with defending the country. A very good case can be made that the Iraq was has made this country far less safe.

[Coiler]

Its constitutionally their job when its followed, constitutionally. Bush fucked up and lied to congress and then said it doesn't matter anyway.

[Nevets]

"A very good case can be made that the Iraq was has made this country far less safe."

Well lets hear it Thothman. Make your case. Tell us how afraid you are to go outisde and ride a bus. Or walk the local mall without fear of a suicide bomber sending nuts and bolts into your chest. Make your case.

[joanie]

This thread reads like a Rush-Hannity-Beck show.

Government jobs:

invading defenseless countries and murdering their leader;

deregulation until everybody's broke except for the top 1% - "Bush's base";

reducing environmental protections until all kids die of lead poisoning and all animals are extinct;

encouraging outsourcing until the middle class becomes extinct;

Gee, did I miss any?

Oh yeah: education only for those who can afford it from private schools.

Wire taps on demand . . . eerybody declared an enemy compatant so nobody has to pay for a trial . . . and torturing while denying you torture.

That's "gumment" work.

[Nevets]

Again Coiler shows his ignorance to history. And it was just a few short years ago at that. Bush did everything right. He went to both Congress and the United nations and they voted to let him use force to invade Iraq. Even our current SoS approved of it.

[Nevets]

And Joanie doing her best "I hate America" routine. Are you a holocaust denier to Joanie?

[joanie]

He lied. Nice try, steven. HE LIED. Watch something besides FOX.

[Habu]

The wino is hitting it early tonight.

einaoj is joanie spelled backwards.

Bic?

[Coiler]

ROFL? 'Bush did everything right'..
I blame Rush for blowing any chance the GOP had after Bushler lied.

[thothman]

Nevets, this ones for you. I remember right after 911 that most of worlds nation recoiled in horror and near unanimously declared sympathy and support for the US. In France LeMonde declared in 4 inch type "We are all Americans now". Most Muslim nations held candlelight vigils and showed support for US. When we responded by bombing Afghanistan, very little of that support eroded. When Rumsfield complained that it wasn't a target rich environment (I guess he was disappointed about not being able to blow up big things) and the US bombed Iraq we lost most of the worlds support. The COWs that did support us did so after cajoling and payments. France our longstanding ally, remember them helping us with american independence, was no longer with us and we decided to rename the fries at the capital cafeteria. The squandering of all that worldwide support for an adventure into the bush doctrine of preemptive strikes not for imminent threats, but for grave and gathering threats was a bad bargain. I believe losing that support was the worsest thing we could have done for the fight against radical muslim terrorism.

[Nevets]

At least for now we have a Constitution to keep the powers of government in check. Once Pelosi, Reed and the rest of the Libs get thier way those powers will erode and be gone soon enough and the President wont have to ask Congress anymore to send troops into harms way. He'll only have to tell his Generals which country to invade. Nice party you have there Joanie.

[Nevets]

I dont see you making your case thothman that we are not safer like you said. Stay on target. Because all you did was show the world sympathized with us. Like they did to Indonesia after the tsunami. Make your case that you fear for your life everyday.

[Nevets]

I'll quit watching FOX when you quit listening to Randi Joanie. Talk about liars, Randi is the biggest and yet you cant tell the difference. Why is that Joanie?

[Coiler]

We weren't safe when Bush took a vacation for a month prior to sept 11th.

[Nevets]

That wasn't Osama you were afraid of Coiler, that was the bogeyman under your bed.

[Nevets]

Thothman must be listening to old clips of Randi right now trying to make his case. Keep listening Thoth, she did alot of fear mongering during the last 4 years on her radio show. You'll find what you need soon enough.