Hour 3: Limbaugh continues to obsess over Obama's teleprompter

This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the teleprompter only Rush can see
By Simon Maloy

Top of the final hour, and Rush was still on the line with the woman from Hour 2, whose husband works for AIG. She professed her anger at the media regarding their AIG coverage, but Rush said she should redirect that anger at Obama. Rush claimed it was not "presidential" for Obama to "denounce" AIG in order to create a mob, and cautioned the caller that "the president of the United States wants you feeling threatened. He wants the American people hating you and your company and your husband's company. He wants the chaos." Why, according to Rush? "[T]his is his life. What do you think a community organizer does?"

Then it was time for another caller, a woman whose husband works on Wall Street. She went a little long explaining how foreign companies are siphoning American workers from bailed-out Wall Street firms and how no one is taking into account the costs of living in the tri-state area. Rush had to take a quick break, but he came back in fine form, explaining to the woman that she is not allowed to complain about maintaining her standard of living because no one will understand how hard she has to work to keep her kids out of the New York public schools. Rush then wanted people to know how expensive it is to work in various parts of the country -- for example: "I need to point out to people that $500,000 a year is not enough for your average Chicago black family to get by on. The Obamas couldn't do it. When the Obamas lived in Chicago, when Barack got elected to the state senate, I mean, that's chump change money he gets paid. That's why he needed help from Tony Rezko to buy his house."

The conclusion to all this was that Obama and his supporters "want families like yours to suffer."

Another break and Rush was back with some more news from across the pond, reading from a Daily Mail article on how "[a]nti-capitalists today claimed responsibility for vandalising the home of disgraced former Royal Bank of Scotland boss Sir Fred Goodwin." Rush said he wouldn't be surprised if the group was affiliated with ACORN. Of course they are, Rush. They're using their billions of dollars in government money to establish overseas branches.

Another caller, this one pointing out to Rush that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is using Limbaugh in fundraising emails. Rush wasn't surprised -- he actually seemed to enjoy being the focus of "Dingy Harry's" fundraising. ("Dingy Harry" is Rush's usual moniker for Reid.) Then it was time for yet another plug for the Heritage Foundation, this time reading on air from this post on their Foundry blog about the "surprising facts" of American health care.

Back from the final break, Rush accused Secretary of State Clinton of "America bashing," citing a Reuters article from today that quoted Clinton saying of the drug violence in Mexico: "Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade." How does this constitute "America bashing"? We're not sure, unless Rush believes either that a) no Americans use illegal drugs, b) Americans do use illegal drugs, but none that come from Mexico, or c) Americans obtain their illegal drugs from Mexico free of charge. It should be noted that Rush's beloved Heritage Foundation published a paper last year praising the Merida Initiative, a Bush administration program conducted in conjunction with the Mexican government to curb drug-related violence, part of which involved the United States "promis[ing] to reduce demand for illegal drugs and to combat trafficking in weapons and bulk cash."

To close out the show, Rush finally got around to what we'd been wanting to talk about all day -- teleprompters. He once again claimed that the media (no one specifically, just "the media") were saying that Obama didn't use a teleprompter last night. But Rush knew better, it was just a bigger teleprompter. We'll patiently wait for Rush to cite a source -- any source -- claiming that Obama did not use a teleprompter last night. In the meantime, we'll point out that the media have done little today except freak out over Obama's shift in teleprompter habits -- the much-maligned Chuck Todd even had to talk Joe Scarborough down this morning after interminable teleprompter analysis.

That's it for today's Limbaugh Wire. We're going to go grab a copy of Mark Levin's book so we can get a better handle on how much John Adams and Alexis de Tocqueville hate Obama and his "statist" cronies. While we're doing that, you all should peruse Media Matters' ongoing and unflinching coverage of America's anchorman, Rush Limbaugh.

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: The president of the United States could have shut down these protests. The president of the United States could have stood up and said, "Wait, we don't need to have this kind of behavior toward these AIG people." He wants it. He -- the president of the United States wants you feeling threatened. He wants the American people hating you and your company and your husband's company. He wants the chaos. He wants the people of this country to think that the private sector is all AIG.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: It is not presidential for the president of the United States to stand up and to denounce a single company like this for the express purpose of creating mob behavior and a mob mentality. And this is what -- this is his life.

What do you think a community organizer does? A community organizer for ACORN or anybody else goes to the downtrodden in any community and says, "You are here and you are where you are because they have given you the shaft. They have taken what is rightfully yours. They are the people we need to protest and punish to get back what is rightfully yours." He's just taking it now beyond the stages of Chicago to the stages of America.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: I need to point out to people that $500,000 a year is not enough for your average Chicago black family to get by on. The Obamas couldn't do it. When the Obamas lived in Chicago, when Barack got elected to the state senate, I mean, that's chump change money he gets paid.

That's why he needed help from Tony Rezko to buy his house. It is why he needed to get hold of a hospital to create a job that paid over $330,000 a year for his wife, Michelle, and since she's left that job, they've not replaced it. It was a job created with money that was guaranteed to the Obama family in the form of a salary for Michelle Obama, simply because her husband was in the Illinois state senate.

That's why they had to write the two books that earned them two and a half million, 'cause not even your average black family can get by on half a million a year in Chicago.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: In these class envy times, your story only serves to throw more gasoline on the class envy fire. People want families like yours to suffer. They want you to understand how hard life is for them and that's why they support Obama, because they think that Obama is going to get your mind right.

Obama is going to take away from you all these things, and you're going to have to find out what it's like to send your kid to a rotten school, and you're going to have to find out what it's like to have your husband never be home, and you're going to have to find out what it's like for the rest of them. And that's what Obama is going to -- he's going to equalize things. He's going to level the playing field.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Also, more America bashing from the Clinton -- I'm sorry -- Obama administration. As you know, Mrs. Clinton -- what -- is she in Mexico or is she on the way? Whatever. Mrs. Clinton today -- a Reuters story: "U.S. to blame for much of Mexico violence." I feel very strong, she said, that we have a co-responsibility, and part of what we're trying to do is not only acknowledge that, but work with the Mexicans to create a very best possible response.

The Secretary of state is paving the way for a flurry of high-level visits involving Eric Holder and the Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The Reuters story says U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that an insatiable appetite in the U.S. for illegal drugs was to blame for much of the violence plaguing Mexico.

So here we have the secretary of State, Mrs. Clinton, once bashing the United States of America. Also, you know, if I'm the teleprompter in the White House, I got to be roaring, rip-roaring mad. I have to be fit to be tied because without the teleprompter, this administration doesn't have anything.

Echo chamber

Read from Heritage blog post, 10 Surprising Facts about American Health Care