Posted on 03/04/2009 9:27:50 AM PST by NoGrayZone
Obama debating himself would prove rather interesting, I would think.
Thanks.
Yes, it does. It matters a lot more than a fight that Rush is more than happy to keep alive.
You've got your loudly-expressed opinion -- and it's justified. But it's a simple fact that the more time Obama spends fighting individual media personalities, the more damage he's doing to himself. Rush will be just fine.
Oh, and if Rush isn't that smart, and his program "does little to advance conservative thought", then why is he being singled out? Hmmmmmm? Why isn't John Derbyshire? Why isn't Rich Lowry? Why isn't [insert name here]?
Let's be clear. Rush is a talented entertainer who knows his audience, and who knows exactly how to play to conservatives' emotional responses. That's not an intellectual basis for anything. Rush's format does not permit him to spend time on anything other than a narrow set of topics, shallowly addressed. It's fine for what it is -- but it will never enable another Reagan-class political revolution.
That will serve Rush very well: he's blessed by his enemies in this case. Just as a debate would be conducted on a ground of Obama's choosing, this little flap is being conducted on Rush's home turf. Obama cannot compete there, and he's a fool for trying to do so.
Rush is a very talented entertainer who knows how to play to his audience. His political views are undoubtedly sincere -- but in regard to his ratings, they're secondary to his ability to entertain.
And what do you think of those of us who listen to him?
There are lots of reasons why people listen to Rush ... why would I assume anything in particular about you or any other individual?
Black Oblack couldn’t debate Rush if Limbaugh only answered half the questions.
Pray for America, Our Troops and obama’s Failure
I do believe your "question" is one of snark, so therefore, I will not advise you to read through the thread for an answer to your "question".
Good for you. You have your own reasoned explanation for Rush’s success. And approximately 20 million others disagree. Certainly that’s a small number when compared to the rest of America. But it’s not insignificant when compared to the readership or listening audience of other conservative spokesmen, is it.
Good day.
Of course it is.
It's hard to resist pointing out the mangled-up writing of others.
Who?
There are probably a half-dozen Rush bashing freepers here that disagree with you.
True; and so do I. That's a far different matter than what I think Rush's chances would be if Obama actually agreed to a head-to-head debate. I stand by my assertion that Obama would hand him his rear end in that format.
And that doesn't justify a personal attack by the president. And if they realize they have nothing to gain (as you say), then why go down this road regardless of what Rush says.
Actually, it marks Obama as a damned fool for giving traction to Rush's remarks. Had he simply let it go, Rush's comments wouldn't ever have seen the light of day outside his niche audience.
Rush is doing a great job of keeping Obama engaged -- and for the life of me I can't figure out why Obama continues to take the bait, other than to chalk it up to his (Obama's) narcissism.
After all, you've said he isn't that influential.
That's not what I said at all. What I said was, that Rush's show is not suited to rebuilding the intellectual foundations of conservatism. Surely you can see the difference?
On that note, we need to be aware Rush is leading us into dangerous territory -- because we've lost our intellectual foundations, it can be very easy for the MSM to paint Limbaugh's opinions as defining "conservatism." Rush is a tempting target: his publicly-stated opinions are tailored to a talk radio audience, and as such cannot be fully fleshed out. Nor does Rush have either the time or (to be frank) the background to form a deeper conservative philosophy. His opinions, such as they're presented on-air, are little more than strawmen, however well-informed Rush himself might be.
As a result, the MSM doesn't actually have to address conservatism in an intellectually rigorous way -- they need only dispense with Limbaugh's necessarily sketchy statements, which is a far easier thing to do.
Their problem not mine :)
Rush is showing them how to Alinsky the Alinskyites. He has chosen Obama, froze him, personalized him, and pantsing him.
You are one of the half dozen I mentioned.
Let's just put it this way: if Rush is such a tremendous boon to conservatism, why is it that we're in such dire political straits?
The answer is pretty apparent: for all that he's popular with his audience, he doesn't have much influence beyond his audience; and most of that audience would probably vote the same way regardless of whether or not Rush was on the air.
The question we really have to deal with is not Obama's taking the bait, but rather whay it will take for conservatism to reach a wider audience in a way that's intellectually respectable?
You need to ask yourself why Obama is able to get away with engaging Rush at all. I think it's unpleasant but true that most Americans -- that other several dozen million who do not listen to Rush -- don't consider his opinions to be intellectually compelling.
Lovely. Have you got a rational response to anything I've said? Or are you simply playing an Obama-esque "bogeyman" card?
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NOTHING FOLLOWS
EOM EOM EOM
Beats it troll. Your communist schill would be decimated by Rush.
I had a block of that Government cheese back in ‘84.
It was pretty good!
Sharp cheddar and crumbly. Good stuff.
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