This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the media's “positive news” conspiracy
By Simon Maloy

Good afternoon and Happy Tuesday, everyone. There's news popping all over the place today -- President Obama discussing Israel policy, a new (Republican) Secretary of the Army, Sonia Sotomayor on Capitol Hill, continuing GM bankruptcy fallout, a local Republican official punished for daring to criticize Rush, and more. On top of all that, Rush is advertising on his website that he's going to discuss on-air today an “Xbox Gitmo” video game programmed by a former detainee. As such, I think it's safe to say we're in for an unhinged and scattershot performance from El Rushbo this afternoon. More so than usual, perhaps.

Rush got things started with a programming note -- Sean Hannity will be coming down to the EIB studios so he and Rush can have another loud, long shout in the echo chamber. Rush explained that his last “interview” with Hannity created “the media firestorm of the year,” as Rush repeated and explained his desire that Obama “fail.” Then Rush had a message for all the Republicans who admonished him for hoping for Obama's failure -- Rush assumes that they are endorsing Sotomayor, supporting nationalization of Chrysler and GM, endorsing $12 trillion in deficits, endorsing coming massive tax increases, and endorsing the nationalization of health care. That's Obama's agenda, said Rush, and he's getting it done, so if you wanted Obama to succeed, you got it. This is exactly what he meant when he made that original comment, said Rush -- Obama's agenda is destructive, and America succeeds when Obama fails. But Obama is not failing, so Rush said doesn't want to hear a word of complaint from these Republicans about the problem Rush creates for them, because Obama is succeeding in implementing his leftist agenda.

Then Rush made good on his word, discussing the Xbox game in which a Guantánamo detainee has to kill American soldiers in order to escape from the prison camp. Rush said that Bill and Melinda Gates should be held accountable if this game goes forward, and that military families are going to be outraged.

Speaking of Gitmo, Rush then moved on to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll, which found that “Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to closing the detention center for suspected terrorists at Guantánamo Bay and moving some of the detainees to prisons on U.S. soil.” Rush said this poll is interesting because it's part of a pattern -- on practically every issue, a clear majority of Americans oppose Obama's policies, but they still approve of him. Actually, no -- clear majorities of Americans believe that Obama's policies “will move the country in the right direction.” Anyway, Rush said this could mean -- and it's a “wild guess” -- that at some point the bottom will drop out of Obama's approval ratings. Obama's popularity is not related to his policies, said Rush, unlike Reagan. Something has to give, and Rush said that's a light of optimism at the end of the tunnel that is going to get brighter. Rush also said that the media know very well that it's very tenuous that American oppose Obama on practically every issue, so they're going to “blur” this “conundrum” by highlighting “positive” news in order to give the impression that the economy is coming back when it's really not.

An example of this, said Rush, is an AP story from today that reported "[f]resh signs emerged Monday that the recession is letting up." According to the AP: “Manufacturing's slide is slowing. Builders are boosting spending on construction projects -- including homes. And consumers aren't cutting back as much as some had feared.” The AP also reported that the positive news is what "[i]nvestors and economists" are focusing on. But, according to Rush, this is exactly what Rush is talking about, and it follows Obama saying last week that we're back from the brink. The Dow Jones goes up a few points and it's credited to Obama, said Rush, but when it drops it has nothing to do with the president. Rush warned: “In the midst of all of this economic shrinkage and realignment into a socialist, fascist-type economy, if they can convince you during times of plenty that we are in a recession or just around the corner from one, then believe me, they think they can convince people who are unemployed and can't find a job that things are booming.”

After the break, Rush explained that he's an aviation buff, and that's why he's “distressed” that Obama is “destroying private aviation.” Rush said that Obama is a “hypocrite” for telling CEOs not to get on their private planes and travel to Las Vegas, while taking “three private planes and two helicopters” to New York for a date with his wife. Limbaugh elaborated: “I think the guy is a raging hypocrite and I think he's got some anger issues he's dealing with about this country and success.”

But the reason Rush brought up aviation was that he wanted to talk about the disappearance of Air France Flight 447 off the Brazilian coast. Rush said that everyone in the media is convinced that lighting was the cause, but Rush says that doesn't completely make sense, and there's something strange about it that lightning doesn't explain.

After another break, Rush said that CNBC reported that GM has sold the Hummer line to the “ChiComs.” So the Hummer will be made, said Rush, it just won't be made in the U.S. Well, that's not entirely true -- The New York Times reported that “G.M. will continue making the H3 and H3T models in Shreveport, La., through the end of next year,” and that the “buyer plans to shift additional production of the H3 from a plant in South Africa to Shreveport.” Anyway, Rush said that the Hummer has been “vilified,” and now they're going to build them in China, and we don't know if we're going to be able to import them into the U.S. Rush then took a couple of calls from pilots explaining what might have caused whatever problems Air France Flight 447 experienced.

After the break, Rush said that the “state media” is reporting more positive economic news -- the AP, again, reporting that the “number of U.S. homebuyers who agreed to purchase a previously occupied home in April posted the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years, a sign that sales are finally coming to life after a long and painful slump.” So, we now find ourselves in the situation where the simple reporting of economic news that is unambiguously positive is evidence of some grand conspiracy by the media to protect Obama's approval ratings.

Rush rounded out the hour with a couple of callers who wanted to talk Hummers. One of them asked what the chances are, now that GM has sold Hummer to the Chinese, that the company will follow through on its commitment to save jobs. Rush said GM has already given up on that promise. Actually, The New York Times reported that GM says the sale of Hummer to the Chinese “would save about 3,000 jobs in the United States, including those at its 153 domestic dealerships, and that Hummer would remain based in the United States.” Rush said that Geithner is not leveling with us about what the Chinese think about our economic policy. This goes back to what Rush said yesterday -- the Chinese are going to stop exporting and just make products for themselves, and “whether or not they're going to export the Hummer back to us or still make it here depends on whether or not -- and I'm serious -- by 2016 any of us are allowed to own one.”

Highlights from Hour 1

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: I'm also very distressed that Barack Obama is destroying private aviation. I mean, how -- here is a guy who tells CEOs and others, “The days of getting on your private plane and going to Las Vegas for a good time, those days are over,” but his days of getting on three private planes and two helicopters to New York for a date are fine and dandy. I just -- I think the guy is a raging hypocrite, and I think he's got some anger issues he's dealing with about this country and success.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: I think one of the real dangers here -- they own so much of our debt, they might finally say, “You know, we're going to stop buying your debt, and we're just going to start manufacturing products for our own population, and we're going to build up our own economy so our own population can buy the stuff we make, and we're going to stop relying so much on exports to you.” So whether or not they're going to export the Hummer back to us or still make it here depends on whether or not -- and I'm serious -- by 2016 any of us are allowed to own one.

“Socialism” and “fascism” watch

LIMBAUGH: In the midst of all of this economic shrinkage and realignment into a socialist, fascist-type economy, if they can convince you during times of plenty that we are in a recession or just around the corner from one, then believe me, they think they can convince people who are unemployed and can't find a job that things are booming, and that hope and change are right around the corner from the unemployment office.