Rush Limbaugh, 'Luke Fitzpatrick'

LUKE WHO?

Mystery Caller May Have Tricked Limbaugh





Ever- determined to bring down their longtime nemesis, liberal opponents have a nasty habit of slamming Rush Limbaugh even after he's admitted to a mistake.

Coming clean on his prescription painkiller addiction, for example, didn't inspire supportive gestures from hate- filled "progressives". Instead, he was ridiculed by the very people who ordinarily preach tolerance for such conditions.

Now, after Limbaugh has admitted to taking a call from an apparent phony, he's being attacked for hoping the person might yet turn out to be legitimate. That's been utilized as fresh fodder for the lefty critics over at David Brock's Media Matters site:

Limbaugh admitted to airing call from phony liberal-bashing Lt. Col. in Iraq but continued to hold out hope officer was real

Summary: On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh admitted he had aired a phone call from a purported Air Force officer in Iraq who the military says "[d]oes not exist." The apparently phony officer, who Limbaugh said identified himself as "Lieutenant Colonel Luke Fitzpatrick" of the "336th Tactical Air Wing," delivered what Limbaugh described as a "profound" and "mov[ing]" message. But despite acknowledging that Pentagon officials and the Air Force told him they have no record of a "Luke Fitzpatrick" or a "336th Tactical Air Wing," Limbaugh nonetheless continued to float the possibility that the caller was in fact an officer in Iraq.

On the June 2 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, Rush Limbaugh admitted that, two days earlier, he had aired a phone call from a purported Air Force officer in Iraq who the military says "[d]oes not exist." The apparently phony officer, who Limbaugh said identified himself as "Lieutenant Colonel Luke Fitzpatrick" of the "336th Tactical Air Wing" at "Tallil Air Force Base" in Iraq, delivered what Limbaugh described as a "profound" and "mov[ing]" message -- among other things, the caller stated that Limbaugh and fellow conservative Sean Hannity are the "only two" radio hosts who "are allowed to get broadcasts across" to the troops in his unit and declared that former President Bill Clinton "castrated" the military.

But Limbaugh's theory that the officer, if real, may have been forced to use a different name for on- air purposes does seem plausible. Or, he could very well have been a complete phony.

Either way, is this really a scandal?


In talk radio, even with experienced producers and a seasoned host, dishonest callers with unknown intentions are to be expected. With an internal BS detector as the only weapon at a talker's disposal, especially skilled liars are bound to slip through the cracks.

Over what really should be a non- issue, why is the left so worked up? Most likely, it's because they see a rare opportunity to discredit a positive assessment of what's going on in Iraq.

NEW: the UN's Kofi Annan blames Rush Limbaugh for undermining its efforts!

--- At Powerline: NPR avoids the "T" word.

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Rush "parody": Air America