Poll Shows Conservatives Clear On Movement Leadership
THE POSITION IS FILLED
Media Manipulation Fails To Confuse Conservatives
To movement conservatives, this should come as no surprise: Rush Limbaugh leads the right. So why do state-run media operatives need to poll the public on this otherwise-settled question?
NEW YORK (AP) - By a wide margin, Americans consider Rush Limbaugh the nation's most influential conservative voice.
Those are the results of a poll conducted by "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair magazine and issued Sunday. The radio host was picked by 26 percent of those who responded, followed by Fox News Channel's Glenn Beck at 11 percent. Actual politicians - former Vice President Dick Cheney and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin - were the choice of 10 percent each.
RUSH: "By a wide margin, Americans consider Rush Limbaugh the nation's most influential conservative voice." This is a product of a poll done by CBS News and reported by State-Controlled AP. My reaction when I saw this, "Yeah, this is news? What, they gamed the poll, it's only 26%? I don't believe this, only 26%?"
And, of course, that doubles anybody else that's close to me by a wide margin, it says. "The radio host was picked by 26 percent of those who responded," followed by Glenn Beck at 11 percent and Dick Cheney and Sarah Palin were next with a choice of 10%.
Sure enough, Limbaugh is on to something: ulterior motives are apparent here. While the state-run media strive to maintain "credibility" by having Rush come out on top, the relatively low percentage naming him is designed to manufacture division within the right's rank-and-file.
Regardless of the skewed results, the message remains clear: atop the movement, there's no sign of instability. The position has been filled from within, so let's end these silly attempts at convincing conservatives otherwise.
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Lefties Worry Obama Has Ignored Rising Unemployment
'OBAMA'S KATRINA'
Don't Blame Us, This Is Coming From The Left
Occasionally, lefty pundits make unusually candid admissions during liberal talk radio interviews that would never occur elsewhere.
The latest example comes from MSNBC's David Shuster, a committed Obamist, but in this case sounding the alarm over what he sees as Barack's odd indifference to rising unemployment. Could it become "Obama's Katrina"?
SHUSTER (32:47): The longer the health care drags on there’s this perception that jobs is not a main priority for the Obama Administration and I do think I mean I think you’re right. At a certain point somebody described it as a tsunami that is building.
One of the columns this morning (The column Shuster cited was written by Arianna Huffington in the Huffington Post) saying this is like another Katrina that building off our coast and the perception of the Obama Administration is either been asleep at the switch, or hasn’t done enough or hasn’t recognized the gravity of the problem. I think it gonna be a huge problem in 2010.
Are Obama's key supporters taking to these settings to warn of trouble ahead? The use of public forums to spread this kind of message indicates a president who isn't listening, even to his own side of the aisle.
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Illegal Alien Scandal Hammers Final Nail In KVI's Coffin
Is this end of a once-mighty regional talk radio powerhouse? After a controversy over the alleged hiring of illegal aliens by a Seattle talk show host, it certainly appears that way.
The flap, first reported by the Seattle Times, could prove the final nail in the coffin of KVI-AM, a onetime political force that frightened entrenched Olympia politicians, pushed tax-fighting ballot propositions over the top and most importantly, generated tremendous ratings and revenue.
Note: your Radio Equalizer was part of the station's weekday lineup in 1998 and 1999.
Now, a Times investigation reveals an alleged pattern of illegal alien hires by afternoon host Peter Weissbach, a Canadian libertarian who crossed the border himself over a decade ago and became an American citizen. From their coverage:
A janitorial company owned by a local conservative talk-radio host is among the early targets of a new strategy by the Obama administration to thin the ranks of illegal immigrants by going after the companies that hire them.
Seattle Building Maintenance, owned by KVI talk-radio host Peter Weissbach and his wife, provides janitorial services in buildings throughout the Puget Sound region, including such Seattle landmarks as the Seattle Art Institute, Pacific Place, Metropolitan Park and the Dexter Horton and Westin buildings.
The subject of an ongoing immigration audit by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, the company has been clearing its books by firing some of its janitorial staff — about 100 people so far — believed to be working illegally.
The probe of Seattle Building Maintenance offers an early glimpse into ICE's approach to worksite enforcement — stealthily targeting employers rather than workers.
It's a departure from the big splashy raids that used to play out on the evening news, with large numbers of immigrants being rounded up and carted off to detention, where many faced removal.
Now, workers are quietly let go by their employers, without the direct contact with immigration agents that might lead to deportation.
Of course, theTimes certainly didn't overlook the opportunity to re-brand the libertarian Weissbach as a "conservative" for its damaging political effects. But there's no denying the incredible hypocrisy destroys what is left of KVI's credibility.
As for Weissbach, what was he thinking? Did he believe the hiring of illegals would be tolerated by his radio audience?
At the moment, he remains on the station's schedule, but it's unclear whether that will continue for long.
During its heyday, KVI was built around local activism-based talk radio in a remote region of the country that favors area issues over national news. At the center of that lineup, however, was Rush Limbaugh, who brought a tremendous audience base to the station. Earlier this decade, Limbaugh moved to a new conservative station, KTTH-AM, which has since become the region's largest commercial talk outlet.
With ratings once routinely in the top five for the Seattle-Tacoma radio market, KVI has fallen to twenty-fifth place in the most recent Arbitron ratings.
While KVI still features top-tier syndicated programming such as Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and others, the absence of strong local personalities and loss of listener goodwill via these recent flaps creates a particularly uncertain future for the onetime talk leader.
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Glenn Beck Unveils Upcoming Agenda, State-Run Media Happy To Oblige
THE REAL 'PLAN'?
Latest Gimmick Could Be Aimed At Movement Takeover
It's no secret that political movements are full of ambitious activists, some of whom are willing to do just about anything to take the reins of power.
And if that's what syndicated / cable talker Glenn Beck seeks, he has every right to aim for a leadership role in the conservative movement, as long as it is attempted honorably. There's no question he has many dedicated fans who turn outin large numbers to see him.
But is there a job opening at the top? It sure doesn't appear that way, yet that's probably news to Beck.
More important is the state-run media's curious role in promoting Beck. Is it designed to install someone they see as highly vulnerable to oversee conservatives, leading to subsequent damage?
Mr. Beck provided few details about his plans for the tour, making it unclear if he truly intends to prod his audience of millions into political action or merely burnish his media brand ahead of a book release.
Mr. Beck did say the conventions would resemble educational seminars, and he emphasized that while candidates may align themselves with the values and principles that he espouses, he would not take the next step to endorse them.
In describing the conventions, he told the crowd on Saturday: “You’re going to learn about finance. You’re going to learn about community organizing. You’re going to learn everything we need to know if you want to be a politician.”
His staff would not say whether particular candidates for office in the 2010 midterm elections would be invited to speak at the conventions or the August rally.
Lanny Davis - Attorney and Democratic strategist :
Glenn Beck is smart. No, he's very smart. So is Laura Ingraham.
Now that is my preferred ticket for 2012 as a good Democrat. Where do I send the check?
Victor Kamber - Carmen Group :
I hope it is real. I can't imagine anything better for the Democratic Party then having Glen Beck 'and his kind' trying to set the agenda for Republicans and Conservatives. Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, Ingram, Dobbs, et al are voices often of hate. They do have a following and do cause noise in this country, but we are not that stupid to elect their ideas to govern us. I never wish to underestimate people but in this case I am underwhelmed by the Fox team and their ability to produce a majority for leadership in this country.
Certainly, there is room for Beck in the conservative movement. Why, however, is the left so eager to install him as Emperor of the Right?
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Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has a message for media stalkers who follow her every move: get a life.
Responding to a question during an interview with syndicated radio host / best-selling author Mark Levin (shown right), the 2008 VP nominee noted the strange nature of the nonstop media attention she receives, including what kind of nail polish she uses.
From Levin's interview, here's the Radio Equalizer clip:
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Already, we've seen examples of Sarah-bashing from the Internet, television and newspapers that are too numerous to mention here. But for interesting insight into just how threatened some "progressive" women feel, it's worth looking at how two female libtalkers have attacked her:
MSNBC's Rachel Maddow has a particularly bizarre method: hoping to convince her audience that Palin is a failure. From her program, which is rebroadcast on Air America Radio:
MADDOW (03:10 in segment on Maddow MSNBC site titled "Another political gamble for Palin"):Governor Palin's book is the third of three political gambles that she has made (along with stepping down as Alaska governor and endorsing Hoffman) since she and John McCain lost the election, and none of these three gambles has gone her way.
I'm not sure she knows that though.
Hey Rachel, why should she "know that"? The book is a smash success, Hoffman nearly won despite backstabbing from his RINO GOP opponent and stepping down in Alaska was a reflection of the political isolation she felt in a remote corner of the country.
If anyone is "gambling", it's Maddow, with a roll of the dice in pushing this crazy theory.
Yet as one of Palin’s biggest attackers around here, I felt uninspired to get out the long knives yesterday. She didn’t rile me up or scare me with nightmare visions of her fishin’ and huntin’ finger on the red button at 3 a.m. Instead there was a certain “it’s so over” quality to her Oprah sitdown. Why? Because it is over. Her chance came, and went. She knows she’ll never be president. Her supporters remain intensely loyal, but few. And while her book has been No. 1 on Amazon for weeks, I suspect that’s about celebrity, not presidential timber.
My prediction: She’ll make millions on the book, flirt briefly with the GOP, do some big bucks speaking, then, as fast as she burst on the scene, disappear.
But if the left really thought Palin was about to disappear, would they devote so much time to attacking her? Their actions reveal the true prevailing sentiment from the left: they're worried sick about Sarah.
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MSNBC's Scarborough Attacks Sarah Palin, Promotes Howard Dean
JOE'S TRUE COLORS
Scarborough Removes All Doubt As To His Leanings
For the few remaining souls still confused as to Joe Scarborough's true political leanings, the MSNBC host / syndicated radio talker has resolved the matter for good.
MARK HALPERIN: Think about it compared to Howard Dean in 2004. He was exciting too, and he had these huge crowds, and people said, this guy's going win the Democratic nomination --
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Not the same, sorry --
HALPERIN: Well, it's big crowds and it's excitement, but it doesn't translate into a governing majority.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: I'm just going to stop here. I'm going to enrage conservatives, but --
OFF-CAMERA VOICE [Katrina vanden Heuvel?]: Go for it!
SCARBOROUGH: I know Howard Dean. I've spoken to Howard Dean. It is such a disservice to compare--forget ideology, conservatives!-- I think Howard's way left and all that. But it is such a disservice to compare Sarah Palin in any aspect to Howard Dean. Yes, because that is an insult to Howard Dean's intelligence.
Book sales aren't the only potential issue: Palin has reportedly considering a TV or radio career if she chooses not to run for the presidency in 2012.
The bottom line: if Scarborough had any core conservative beliefs, he wouldn't be slamming Palin while aware of precisely the kind of reaction that would result.
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Radio segments are introduced by Maddow in a way that suggests original Air America content, but the program immediately reverts back to the previous night's TV show. AAR doesn't include necessary disclaimers during these intros.
MADDOW (Wednesday 11 Nov 09 - 07:12 in segment titled "Scozzafavification"): I also do a talk radio show and I feel like, on behalf of talk radio hosts, I want to apologize for all the mean, personal things that were said about you (laughs).
She has dropped her daily evening show on Air America, but will "provide content" for an hour-long morning program, largely built on her MSNBC show of the previous evening.
The problem, says Maddow, is that something had to give.
"I just couldn't keep doing both," she says. "It was a quality control issue - the quality of the program and my own quality of life. I need time to, say, eat and sleep, which I understand most people do every day. I wasn't. I needed not to be grabbing food off a cart at 2 in the morning."
But since then, Maddow's "radio show" has consisted of an audio-only rebroadcast of the previous night's television show. The key difference: segments are sometimes edited and reconfigured (running in a different order) to suit the radio medium.
So will Maddow be heldto the samestandard as Hannity? Unlike Sean's program, where it was a editor that made the mistake (leaving the host to take the hit), this untrue statement comes straight from Rachel.
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Libtalker Montel Williams Warns Of Extreme Reaction To Fort Hood Shootings
THE PITCHFORK BRIGADE
Lefty Talkers Push Ft Hood Overreaction Theory
Are Americans ready to declare war against all Muslims living in the US based on the shooting spree at Fort Hood? While that may seem preposterous to most of us, to the some on the left, it's a likely scenario.
Do they really believe this, or is it merely a political scare tactic, designed to shift blame from the accused killer to "intolerant" Americans?
For his part, libtalker Montel Williams of Air America Radio was willing to take this several steps further, suggesting that this road could even lead to a second round of internment camps!
Talk about overheated "rhetoric", the very issue Williams cites as a key concern:
WILLIAMS (45:48): We pulled something like this back in World War II when we decided to round up all Japanese Americans and put them in internment camps...The [anti-Muslim] rhetoric... could get out of hand. What do you think?
FRANK FARLEY (Temple University): I agree totally... The possibilities of prejudice and racism and so on are incredible here. We should be treating this as a unique incident and look at the factors involved in this very unique and specific incident and not overgeneralize. Unfortunately, we tend to overgeneralize all the time. The idea that all Muslims are the same is ridiculous...
WILLIAMS: Even if it comes out... that his frame of reference was his religion and that was what was giving him the power within himself to make his stand, that doesn't mean that the religion is to blame.
FARLEY: Absolutely, his interpretation [of Islam] may vary dramatically from [that of] his fellow Muslims.
Hey guys, care to provide bona fide examples of Americans overreacting to this story? It occurred days ago, where are the pitchforks?
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Near-Bankruptcy, Broadcaster Faults Loss Of Hannity Revenue
SELF-DESTRUCTION
Political Bias Could Lead To Citadel-ABC Radio's Bankruptcy
In a textbook example of the dangers of placing personal politics ahead of good business sense, past mistreatment of a top conservative talker is partly to blame for a major radio operator's impending bankruptcy.
But don't take our word for it: stunningly, Citadel Broadcasting (which absorbed ABC Radio into its operation several years ago) admits the loss of Sean Hannity's syndicated radio show has cost it millions in desperately-needed cash flow at a time when corporate debt and slow ad sales are crippling its operations.
In the same filing with regulators, the company has disclosed that it may file for protection from creditors in January.
Until now, though, Citadel (OTC:CTDB) had avoided mentioning Chapter 11 as a likely scenario.
The company owns major talk stations including WABC/ New York, WLS/Chicago, KGO-KSFO / San Francisco, WBAP Fort Worth-Dallas, WJR/Detroit and WMAL/Washington.
As we'd reported in 2008,a fed-up Hannity dumped the firm's syndication arm, then called ABC Radio Networks, for Clear Channel's Premiere Radio after disturbing incidents behind the scenes, including the refusal of one Citadel exec to board a plane with the longtime conservative talker.
In addition, Citadel took a hit from the passing of Paul Harvey. While that may have been unavoidable, chasing away Hannity was inexcusable.
The big drop came in the radio network business, now called Citadel Media. Net revenues plunged 31.5% to $29.4 million. The loss of Paul Harvey, who died, and Sean Hannity, who took his show elsewhere, accounted for $8 million of the $13.5 million decline. Segment operating income dropped 92.3% to $500K from $6.5 million a year earlier. The drop in revenue was slightly offset by an 18% reduction in costs.
Citadel has been warning of covenant compliance problems ahead since it reworked its credit agreement with its lenders back in late March. Facing a requirement that it have $150 million of available cash as of January 15, 2010, Citadel has admitted in several SEC filings that it does not expect to be able to meet that requirement and will likely face a financial restructuring which would dilute or wipe out the equity of current shareholders.
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In an unusually candid moment from a host who until recently was a compliant, unquestioning Democrat, libtalker Ed Schultz has made the kind of observation one normally expects to hear from his conservative counterparts.
The unthinkable question: is Obama a wimp?
Just a few months ago, raising this delicate matter in a public setting would be grounds for excommunication from the "progressive" movement, but times certainly have changed.
With PelosiCare having passed the house over the weekend, however, does the MSNBC / syndicated talker feel differently now? We'll find out soon enough.
Here's what he told radio listeners a bit earlier in the week:
SCHULTZ (22:24): I've noticed on a few stump speeches that he (Obama) tells us that he might be small but he's tough. And I have thought about all of the past presidents. I haven't heard a president tell us how tough he is.
Am I wrong? Tell me if I'm wrong. ... And I think that's rather strange, or unusual. You shouldn't have to tell us that. You should illustrate this by taking a trip up to Capitol Hill. And getting some of these people that you helped get into office and calling some markers on health care reform.
Beyond the pitch for Pelosi's health care takeover, it's hard to make a distinction between this and similar rhetoric that results in conservative hosts under fire for daring to criticize the Dear Leader.
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If you thought Dr Laura Schlessinger had finally fallen off of the left's radar screen, today's Los Angeles Times puts that idea to rest. Their longstanding inability to completely destroy her career means "progressives" must still deal with this unfinished business.
In August, Schlessinger was abruptly removed from her longtime home at KFI under strange circumstances (its internal office politics are legendarily dysfunctional, almost without equal in the radio business), but quickly found a new flagship as rival KFWB-AM switched from all-news to talk.
During her long run at KFI, she helped the station deliver big ratings, as documented in previous EQ coverage from 2008 and 2006.
With ratings now available for the first month of KFWB's new talk format, the Times saw an opportunity to pounce on conservative radio programming and took it:
Even with its drop, KFI far outpaced its talk rivals. KABC-AM (790) ranked 22nd, KRLA-AM (1110) was 36th, KTLK-AM (1150) was tied for 41st and newcomer KFWB-AM (980) was tied for 38th.
October was the first full month of ratings for KFWB under the new format that the former all-news station unveiled with great fanfare in September, boasting that it had lured advice guru Laura Schlessinger away from KFI to anchor its midday schedule.
Despite the presence of Schlessinger and such other experienced hosts as Laura Ingraham and Michael Smerconish, KFWB not only has not gained traction, it actually has lost listeners. The CBS-owned station has ebbed from a 1% share in August to 0.8% in September and 0.7% in October.
And Schlessinger, a ratings powerhouse at KFI, is an also-ran at KFWB so far. In October, during the weekday period of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. that covers the time she's on the air, the station tied for 32nd place with a 1% share of audience.
KNX-AM (1070), the sister CBS station that now has the all-news field to itself, tied for 15th in October with a 2.8% share, much the same as it has scored for at least the last six months.
In the 6-10 a.m. "morning drive" period that is radio's prime time, KFI maintained its lock on No. 1, with Bill Handel and Rush Limbaugh combining to attract 6.2% of the audience. KIIS' Ryan Seacrest was second with a 5.1% share, followed by Gary Bryan on KRTH, Mark Thompson & Brian Phelps on KLOS-FM (95.5) and Eddie "Piolin" Sotelo on Spanish-language KSCA-FM (101.9).
But the Times used generalized data to reach its "also-ran" conclusion. More specific breakdowns reveal the exact opposite conclusion, as Dr Laura has in just one month sent a portion of KFI's audience packing and headed straight for KFWB.
From noon to 3pm, in key demographic groups, here are the real numbers:
Persons 25-54:
KFWB up 66.7% (1.5 audience share) KFI down 44.8% (1.6)
Women 25-54:
KFWB up 92.3% (2.5) KFI down 66.7% (1.3)
Adults 18+ :
KFWB up 36.4% (1.5) KFI down 21.4% (1.6)
In other words, in just one month, Dr Laura is already beating her old station in some demos and threatens to do so soon in others.
Will the paper issue a retraction? Don't hold your breath.
In addition, did you notice how it glossed over the 41st place showing of libtalk outlet KTLK?
Given the Times and its left-wing agenda, this is all about politics: her replacement at KFI, Bill Handel, is not conservative and Dr Laura's defiant stands on cultural issues make her an easy target for Californian leftists, who openly seek to eradicate all dissenting viewpoints.
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MSNBC Outlines Plan To Gerrymander NY-23 Out Of Existence
FIXING THEIR WAGONS
MSNBC: Dems Plan To Eliminate NY Swing District
Now THAT will teach those conservative teabaggers not to run viable candidates in Upstate New York!
In a remarkable moment of candor, MSNBC's Larry O'Donnell has revealed to Rachel Maddow the Democratic Party's plan to gerrymander NY-23 out of existence, all to benefit neighboring incumbents. Aren't these schemes usually cooked up in secret?
Swing districts? Those are a thing of the past.
And that new guy, Democrat Bill Owens? Before even taking office, he's already been thrown under the bus.
Here's the clip and transcript:
O'DONNELL (04:11 in segment on Maddow MSNBC site titled "Drawing lessons from NY-23"): It is surrounded by Democratic districts, it's going to get chopped up, and it's going to be represented by a few other people and the 23rd will no longer exist.
MADDOW: When it does get chopped up, when there is a new 23rd, is it expected to be a Republican or Democratic district?
O'DONNELL: It will be Democrat because what they're going to do is simply slice into it from the surrounding Democratic seats and preserve all those Democratic seats and, you know, give each one of those districts just enough of the difficult Republican part for them to survive.
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Expecting big losses in today's off-year elections, liberal talk radio is engaged in self-serving finger-pointing this week, making sure listeners aren't inclined to believe they are part of the problem.
A secondary aim: protecting Obama, of course.
And bringing an especially twisted version of events into the picture is MSNBC's Sylvester The Cat- channeling Ed Schultz, who is telling radio listeners that Dem defeats are the result of proceeding too slowly with ObamaCare and the public (government-run) option!
Let's give Ed extra points for creativity here, he's earned them.
SCHULTZ (05:41): Now you want to know why Corzine's in trouble in new Jersey? You want to know why this Creigh Deeds is in trouble in Virginia? And why all of a sudden there's a big uproar over this District 23A, or District 23 in New York? Because the Democrats are still messing around with health care! This election tomorrow is going to hit the Democrats like a freight train. Obama, in case you've been scoring it at home, has done five appearances for Jon Corzine. A former United States senator. A Goldman Sachs former CEO. An establishment guy. You want to talk about political capital being used on a gubernatorial seat.
Obama's trying to stop a reversal of what has been a pretty solid wave since 2006. And I offer you this commentary today, folks, that had we had done health care 30 days ago instead of worrying about Joe Lieberman, instead of worrying about going on vacation in August, how many, let me ask you this. How many more Republicans do we have than what we had back in late July before they went on vacation in August? You got a head count for me?! The number is zero. I've told you all along it was going to be zero.
I talked about the September stall. October, same old stuff! Here we are in November! THIS IS WHY I GET PISSED OFF!
And you know what?! The Democrats are going to get exactly what they deserve tomorrow! Because they ran around the country talking about change and when they went to Washington, they lost their teeth! They lost, they just didn't quite know how to take a bite out of their rear end and stick it to 'em!
With the spin machine barely warming up, watch for more gems to come over the next 24 hours or so. In the meantime, thanks to Big Eddie for getting the ball rolling.
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Libtalker Bill Press Praises Obama's Economic Policies
IT'S FIXED!
Press Praises Obama For Economic Mission Accomplished
For uberpartisan libtalker Bill Press, these have got to be difficult times. How does one retain credibility while defending Barack Obama's crazy tax-and-spending schemes?
His apparent answer: forget how silly it might appear and back the president no matter what.
Independent thought? Never heard of it.
That's about the only way to explain the former CNN Crossfire host's ridiculous assertion that "Obamanomics has worked", saving the economy through massive government growth.
From his syndicated radio program, here's the caught-on-tape clip:
Yet, even Press realizes that the "recovery" party will be over as soon as the feds take away the punch bowl. That's why he backs additional spending schemes that will continue the all-is-well illusion.
And unfortunately for Bill, a number of leading economists and market analysts are pouring cold water on the very same figure he cited as evidence of a turnaround: last week's quarterly GDP report.
U.S. third-quarter GDP data was "horrible" and investors will soon realize that it wasn't as good as they initially thought, Marc Faber, publisher of the Gloom, Doom and Boom Report, told CNBC.com.
"I wouldn’t rely on the GDP figures and I think the market will actually realize that they were quite poor," Faber said.
The figures, which pleased investors by beating analysts' consensus expectations Thursday, didn't give positive signs for personal income and unemployment, Faber pointed out.
U.S. gross domestic product grew at 3.5 percent on an annualized basis, showing that the economy was, at least unofficially, out of its longest recession since the great depression. But Faber told CNBC.com that the figures were not always reliable. "I wouldn't rely on GDP figures, you can manipulate them," he said.
Beyond how economists interpret the stats, what about the general public? Do they believe the downturn is over? Consumer confidence numbers strongly suggest the opposite.
While some libtalkers have wisely begun to distance themselves from Obama's missteps, Bill's partisan hat has permanently been attached to his head.
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“It is a surreal day when you are getting lectures on humility by Rush Limbaugh,” Axelrod said on CBS’s Face The Nation. “He is an entertainer. The president has to run the country.”
Limbaugh called Obama “immature, inexperienced,” “narcissistic,” and “a child,” on Fox News Sunday.
He also accused President Barack Obama of “destroying” the economy, pursuing an “unconstitutional” health care reform plan, and “not caring” about the war in Afghanistan, in an interview on Fox News Sunday.
“It’s no surprise that Rush Limbaugh espouses the views that he espouses,” said Axelrod. “He’s marketing the outrageous and he does very well with it.
Here, the AP accepts the White House's characterization of Limbaugh as "far-right":
"The president of the United States went to Dover to represent the American people and pay his respects to the families who had made so much of a sacrifice, to those brave service people who made the ultimate sacrifice," Axelrod said on CBS’ "Face the Nation."
The White House has suggested that Limbaugh and some other far-right political personalities have grabbed control of the Republican Party. Limbaugh has openly vowed to do what he can to ensure that Obama’s presidency is a failure.
His remarks on "Fox News Sunday" follow administration criticism that Fox News is the voice of the far-right wing of the Republican Party. Obama recently excluded the news network in a weekend blitz of television interviews.
Limbaugh said he is deeply worried about the administration’s initiatives.
"We’ve never seen this kind of radical leadership at such a high level of power in the country," he said. "I believe that the economy is under siege, is being destroyed. Anybody with any economic literacy would not do one thing this administration’s done to try to revitalize the private sector. They’re destroying it."
Looking to the future, the radio host predicted a revolt against the Democratic Party and Obama in the 2010 midterm elections. He also said former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential nominee in 2008, was prepared to be president, but he stopped short of endorsing her as a candidate.
Limbaugh criticized Vice President Joe Biden as "pompous, a bit of a wind bag and wrong," and said a second Obama term would be painful for the nation.
"Every day you get up and there’s a new potential threat to liberty and freedom being launched by this man and his administration," he said.
In particular, CBS News seems most alarmed by the prospect of a resurgent Rush fighting Obama's intimidation campaign. Earlier today, the network's Bob Schieffer found a way to attach malicious intent to Limbaugh's interview, according to Brent Baker of NewsBusters:
Rush Limbaugh's tough criticisms of President Barack Obama on Fox News Sunday “broke” the White House's truce with Fox News, Bob Schieffer suggested during an interview with Obama's Senior Adviser, David Axelrod, on Face the Nation.
After playing a clip of Limbaugh dismissing as “a photo-op” Obama's trip to Dover Air Force Base to witness returning casualties from Afghanistan and quoting Limbaugh's characterizations of Obama as “narcissistic,” “immature, inexperienced” and “in over his head,” Schieffer, seemingly referring to Limbaugh's remarks -- or, at least the decision by Fox News to feature Limbaugh on its Sunday interview show -- forwarded:
Last week your man Robert Gibbs met with the folks at Fox News, declared a truce in this war you've been having with them. Was the truce broken this morning?
Let's face it: what's most threatening to the Obamists isn't merely what Rush says, it's his lack of fear in doing so.
The left is counting on cowering conservatives and a docile GOP to provide an ineffective, token opposition in the years to come. If others are empowered to tackle Barack's partisans head-on, it could bring the Democratic Party's house of cards quickly crashing down.
Via the AP and CBS: 
Via the AP and CBS: 
