This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the eulogy for Obama's teleprompter
By Simon Maloy

We're fond of the idea that one should respect one's audience. Of course, here at the Wire, our audience is comprised mainly of people who went too far in their Google searches for the critically acclaimed HBO series, so respect doesn't really enter into it. But for people who actually have an audience that wants to hear what they have to say, such respect is key. Just look at Glenn Beck, who yesterday attacked the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee for their “questioning” of Sonia Sotomayor. Of course, there was no “questioning” of Sotomayor yesterday, and the clips Beck aired were of the senators' opening statements. There are two possible options here: Beck honestly, but wrongly, believed that the Judiciary Committee questioned Sotomayor yesterday, or he knew that there were no questions, but nonetheless decided to attack the Democrats for lobbing softballs. No matter how you slice it, this shows a staggering lack of respect for his audience -- either he didn't care enough to know what he was talking about before commenting on it, or he assumed that his audience wouldn't know better and deliberately lied. And then there's Rush, who yesterday reached back an entire week to lie about President Obama's trip to Russia as part of a tired harangue about Obama's intentions to cripple America at home and abroad. Now, as members of his audience, we expect Rush to lie, but he should at least have enough respect for us to keep those lies fresh...

And speaking of fresh material, Rush got the program started with an extended teleprompter joke. Actually, that's not quite true. Before he launched into the teleprompter foolishness, he had to get this in: “Yes, I've been watching the Sotomayor stuff. What do you think I've been doing? Start the tape, from the beginning. I'll tell you what, though; I can't -- I had to turn it off. I had to -- the woman's scary.” After praising Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and saying that Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) “needs a drain in his throat,” Rush finally got around to the teleprompter. Apparently, one of the president's teleprompters fell during his speech yesterday and shattered. Rush said he doesn't know if a eulogy is in order, but he was shocked that Obama didn't even apologize to the teleprompter, given that the teleprompter made him who he is. Words cannot convey the horror we experienced in seeing the Teleprompter in Chief in pieces on the floor, said Rush. Who among us is not sad to see TOTUS pass away at such a young age? It was brilliantly talented, said Rush, and “many will say he was taken from us too soon,” but Rush had this to add: “To that I say, good riddance. That little wise ass teleprompter was propping up an authoritarian socialist, and it helped this president conduct a war on prosperity.”

But what happens when TOTUS dies like this? What happens, said Rush, is that the teleprompter's duties are immediately transferred to Vice President Joe Biden's teleprompter. Rush then remembered some of the high points of the teleprompter's life. The teleprompter tried to kill itself at the Air Force Academy during Biden's commencement speech, and it told Obama a story last week about how he met his wife in class, but Obama did not meet his wife in class. So the teleprompter was sabotaging him as recently as last week, said Rush. The state-run media decided they had to do some quick clean-up after this faux pas. If any of these things had happened to Bush, he'd have been called a dolt and an idiot.

So things were not well between Obama and the teleprompter, said Rush, and so people are trying to figure out what the real situation was. Was there a secret CIA program hatched by Dick Cheney to get this teleprompter? We'll never know.

After the break, Rush was still on the teleprompter, saying that Obama claims that his administration is transparent, but the teleprompter was the only transparent aspect of the administration. Rush added: “A little ditty here about the teleprompter saying and making Obama say he met his wife in class when he met his wife at work; perhaps Obama met his next wife in class and they're just getting -- you never know. I mean, now because that's a substantive error out there. And not long after that, bam! Bamster! Teleprompter is fini.”

Then Rush said you can sum up everything Sotomayor has said today in five seconds -- everything she is saying is not true. She's making it up and pretending she never said what she's said. She said the Ricci case was decided on precedent, but there was no precedent to cite, said Rush. Actually, there was precedent, and it was cited in the opinion Sotomayor joined in Ricci v. DeStefano. Anyway, Rush said that Sessions was great from top to bottom; he exposed all of Sotomayor's hypocrisy, and that's great because it exposes Obama for who he is. Rush guaranteed that if there were good video of Sotomayor making that “wise Latina” statement, she wouldn't be sitting there today.

Rush then noted that the new New York Times/CBS poll shows that Obama's approval rating has dropped to 57 percent, and Gallup says that Americans are getting impatient for an economic recovery. Then he aired sound bites from CBS' The Early Show this morning in which Bob Schieffer said that it's the economy affecting Obama's numbers, and while he's a long way from being unpopular, people are not seeing the impact of the stimulus. The media are slaves, said Rush; they're liberals. They want Obama to succeed more than they want the economy to survive, and that's why they fret over the poll data.

Rush then said if it's Tuesday, it must be spending day in Washington, D.C. Rush cited a New York Times article reporting that Obama “plans to head to hard-hit Michigan on Tuesday afternoon to announce a $12 billion infusion for the nation's community college system,” a Reuters report on Obama “mulling new ways to delay foreclosure for jobless homeowners who are unable to keep up with monthly payments,” and an ABC News report on “top labor leaders pushed for a second stimulus package to create more jobs.” That's three brand new spending proposals in one day, said Rush, ignoring the fact that the ABC News article was not about a new spending proposal.

Another break and Rush was back saying that with all the Sotomayor analysis going on, what's being missed is what happened in the Ricci case. The fact is that Sotomayor buried the case, said Rush. There was no published opinion, and she was doing everything she could to make sure that her reasoning would never come to light. All of this back and forth today about Ricci, said Rush, “is an attempt for her to retrace her steps, recast what she did, lie about the fact that there was precedent involved when there wasn't.” Like we said above, there was precedent involved, and it was cited.

Anyway, Rush said "[i]t is clear she does not have the courage of her leftist convictions." Sonia Sotomayor knows that her views are nowhere near the mainstream, said Rush. In Ricci, she couldn't afford to write an opinion because she knew she would never make it to this point if she did. She's not a crusader in the public sense, said Rush. She's trying to hide it, which tells everyone that the things that she believes are not mainstream. Rush said it would have been very easy for Sotomayor to say today that she misspoke on the “wise Latina” stuff, and everyone would have applauded her. We doubt that Rush really believes this, since he attacked Sotomayor back in June for making similar comments in 1994, saying specifically that since she said it two times, there's no chance that she misspoke. Anyway, Rush continued, saying that she tried to excuse it and reposition it, and she believes what she did in Ricci was right.

So, in the end, said Rush, she buried the Ricci case in an unpublished opinion that makes sure the affirmative action position wins, but she didn't try to defend it publicly. That's why we need these hearings, he said -- we're not going to get to the real Sotomayor unless the Republicans continue to push. She's a “radical,” said Rush, and there are many other “radicals” on the committee -- the Democrats. They're doing everything they can to help her bury who she really is.

Rush then noted that Obama's out in Michigan looking for a boost today. Rush addressed the people of Michigan, saying that the worst thing that could happen to them is Obama coming to see you. You Michiganites know why you're in trouble, said Rush -- because Democrats have been running your cities and states. And now the architect of 9.5 percent unemployment and unimaginable debt is coming to your state. Rush summed things up, saying that whenever Geraldo shows up on TV, that means someone has died. He's the grim reaper. And Michigan, you've got the economic grim reaper showing up.

One more break and Rush had one last question on Sotomayor -- Obama said we needed someone with empathy, and she used empathy in Ricci, so why didn't she just say she was empathizing with the minority? The woman is hiding who she is, said Rush.

Rush then took his first caller, a woman who said that people don't care who Obama really is -- they care that he's a minority, and they care that he's not George Bush. Rush said, right now, that's mostly true, but his numbers are starting to come down. Look at the Rasmussen presidential approval index, look at the New York Times poll. The caller then said people aren't going to care until they realize that they are the ones who are going to get hurt, and when the middle class people who voted for a minority to prove they aren't racist start seeing their taxes go up, they're going to have a change of heart. Rush said there was no point in this listener calling because he agreed with everything she said. If that were a rule Limbaugh listeners adhered to, then the phone lines would be dead.

Rush closed out the hour with a caller who said that Obama is doing a great job, and Rush and the Republicans should be doing something to elevate their own party. Rush said Obama isn't doing a great job, and people are laughing at him across the world. Rush said he feels like he's watching The Omen, and everything that has happened -- the teleprompter dying, the massive unemployment, Hillary Clinton getting mad -- shows that it's not as smooth as glass out there.

Greg Lewis and Zachary Pleat contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Highlights from Hour 1

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: Yes, I've been watching the Sotomayor stuff. What do you think I've been doing? Start the tape, from the beginning. I'll tell you what, though; I can't -- I had to turn it off. I had to -- the woman's scary.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Who among us is not sad to see the Teleprompter of the United States, TOTUS, such immense talent, pass away at such a young age. I mean, this prompter -- not even seven months old. The president's teleprompter, brilliantly talented, a giant in his field, one of the best teleprompter ever -- at a time like this, many will say he was taken from us too soon, that his best days were still ahead of him.

To that I say, good riddance. That little wise ass teleprompter was propping up an authoritarian socialist, and it helped this president conduct a war on prosperity. This teleprompter that everybody is feeling so sorry for helped the president destroy the private sector. This teleprompter was the best friend of a fraudulent anti-free market liberal. The dearly departed teleprompter was an accessory here to outrageous acts against the United States economy, attempting to take our money and property under false pretenses, lying about global warming, lying about health care, cap and tax -- I don't have any sorrow that the teleprompter is fini.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: A little ditty here about the teleprompter saying and making Obama say he met his wife in class when he met his wife at work; perhaps Obama met his next wife in class and they're just getting -- you never know. I mean, now because that's a substantive error out there. And not long after that, bam! Bamster! Teleprompter is fini.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Every one of these liberals that come up there as appointees to one court or another -- and even in a lot of cases, some liberals running for office -- but especially Sotomayor, it is clear she does not have the courage of her leftist convictions. She is a big believer in affirmative action, but she will not dare go public and act as a crusader for it because she knows it's not a winner.

So, these people, Sonia Sotomayor, the whole point -- what you should be learning from these hearings if you're watching is how she's trying to bury who she really is. That's the whole point of this. That's the way she was rehearsed - bury who she is.

America's Truth Rejector

Falsely claimed there was no precedent involved in the Ricci decision:

LIMBAUGH: And all of this back and forth today about Ricci is an attempt for her to retrace her steps, recast what she did, lie about the fact that there was precedent involved when there wasn't.