Posted on 03/06/2009 7:10:50 AM PST by Delacon
Not only has Obama’s seconds come out swinging at Rush, but the whole of the lefty blogosphere has joined in on the taking points. Never the sort to do much self-generated thinking, the lefty gab-o-sphere has with relish taken up the banner and run with it. Naturally, the tenor of discussion has fallen off a cliff into the typical guttural guffaws and epithets at which the left excels. From a purported “Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics at Columbia University” on Huffington Post to the DailyKossacks, the name calling is piling up.
With his attack on Rush Limbaugh, however, Obama risks a backlash that just might hit him where it hurts: his own credibility.
The “Assistant Professor” I mention above developed the theme that Rush is a “clown” that is beneath the attention of the President of the United States. He went on to claim that should Obama deign to debate Limbaugh the president would help Limbaugh “gain in status” simply by engaging the radio talker. To a certain degree Limbaugh himself agrees with the basic concept of his uplift by Obama.
Before I go on, I find this theme quite amusing. Why? Well, because it’s the same theme that conservatives have employed to explain why a U.S. president shouldn’t engage in “diplomacy” with terrorists and thugs like Ahmadinejad and Osamma bin Laden! It was a claim the left called stupid. Now, all of a sudden, the same argument is the chief argument to use. Only one word describes this situation; hypocrisy.
So, as you may have guessed, I ascribe to this theory. If I were president and an unhinged lefty radio twerp were challenging me to a debate, I would ignore the situation entirely.
However, I would also be insisting that my surrogates do the same. And this is why Obama could easily come out on the losing end of this game he’s playing with Rush Limbaugh. Obama and his administration should have given the Limbaugh theme scant notice. If anything, a brief statement and then silence should have been the tact.
Why could this bite (or byte, as the case may be) Obama? Because he allowed — and probably helped plan — this all out attack on a mere talk radio guy by his White House staff and all the Old Media folks they control. Folks like George Stephenapolous, Paul Begala and James Carville have filled the airwaves with the talking points they’ve been handed. On top of that even Obama’s Chief of Staff and his Press Secretary have engaged the radio talker in verbal attacks.
So, Limbaugh, being the brilliant promoter that he is, issued his debate challenge. And then… and then what? Obama ignores it? After a week of his closest advisors, employees, and all their pals attacking Limbaugh, NOW President Obama pretends that Limbaugh is meaningless?
How does it look to the general, disengaged public when everyone that surrounds a president engages in the same quest to demean a single talk show host, yet than that president pretends the subject isn’t worthy of his time? Doesn’t this confuse the people? After all, if Rush isn’t really worth the president’s time, why is his whole staff getting so exercised over him? Someone in the White House must think Rush is important!
Now add that quixotic reaction to February’s statement by the president that Republicans “just can’t listen to Rush” and carry forward with the people’s business.
It all adds up to Obama’s hypocrisy on the matter. It also adds up to a certain element of fear evinced by Obama. People cannot help but imagine that the president and his staff are afraid of Rush. Both because they are talking about him all the time, but pretending he isn’t important, AND because the president refuses to debate him even after bringing him into the debate.
As I said, this could easily reflect badly on the president all the way around. His opponents will taunt him that he is afraid of a mere radio talker and his supporters will be angry that he gave that same radio guy the time of day.
President Obama is quickly rushing himself into a no win scenario. It is fast coming to a point where Rush Limbaugh wins no matter what. And that right there is funny no matter who you are.
A professor from Columbia took time out to weigh in on Rush's debate challenge but failed to comment on the role of Begala-Carville-Stephanopoulos in vulgarizing public discourse? There's some kind of problem there.
President Obama is quickly rushing himself into a no win scenario. It is fast coming to a point where Rush Limbaugh wins no matter what. And that right there is funny no matter who you are.
I know Rush is laughing his rearendo off because he’s thinking....What the hell? A sitting president of the United States is coming after me? Bring it on O’Bozo! It’s already a win-win for Rush. Obambi has a hell of a lot more things to be concerned about than his ego!
0bama is skeered!
It might be a win-win but it would be a bigger win-win if Rush continued attacking Obama, and then had a hurryup version of the Fairness Doctrine come down on his head. A LITERAL attempt to shut him up, that would show the entire nation that this dangerous dweeb cannot take criticism.
I don’t see any “debate” every actually happening.
I do see the infinite possibilities for a backlash to take place, which would make it a Capital W win for Rush and for us as well. Obama is going to have to be recalled.
THere is no other way. As we all knew he would, his reckless demagoguery is about to create an unprecedented kind of civil war.
Won’t happen and it shouldn’t. I also wouldn’t have wanted to see Bush debating Olbermann.
“Won’t happen and it shouldn’t. I also wouldn’t have wanted to see Bush debating Olbermann”.
Once big difference. Bush never went after Olbermann.
Someone suggested Joy Behar.
Obama is the clown. We need a bozo the clown outfit with the nose and makeup on Obama. Git er done.
So explain to me why, based on the same premise, would Obama ever talk with Ahmadinejad or Hamas?
The author missed an important point... the White House has declared that they see Rush as the leader of the opposition party.
Lets see the BOZO do it lithout a prompter.
If nothing else, it shut Barry and his peeps up.
“The author missed an important point... the White House has declared that they see Rush as the leader of the opposition party”.
And as such, Obama should debate him. At the very least Rahm Emmanuel should.
I’d like to see Rush and Olbermann have a duel...with Olbermann’s gun having no bullets.
Society was much more dignified when people dueled.
Remind me again,,when did Bush make Olberman a topic of talking points, criticize him by name, say Americans shouldn’t listen to him, and of course, have his chief of staff form an anti-Olberman team?
Oh,,and having committees HE controls run anti-Olberman
TV commercials?
If Bush had done those things, and Olberman challenged him to debate, he would have been a coward not to. You dont get it both ways.
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