This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by oil changes and blood tests -- one in the same
By Greg Lewis

Rush got the second hour started by saying that it's just “amazing” to watch Obama on television talking about taking over the financial industry, or the credit industry, or “whatever he is taking over.” Rush said Obama is “recycling every lie” that was told about the mortgage crisis, that the lenders were predatory while the regulators were “out to lunch.” Then he quipped that when Ronald Reagan was president, he didn't have “a conservative media” or a Republican majority in Congress, but he was still able to do almost everything he wanted to do. Rush explained that Reagan had the ability to go over the heads of the media.

Anyway, Rush didn't take long to return to the caller from the end of the first hour. After the caller further explained his feelings that Obama has “hardly done anything” for the little guy, and has only helped big business, Rush, saying that this caller was a “goldmine,” gave the poor caller a lesson in what is really going on. The lesson to the caller, said Rush, is that presidents and governments cannot save businesses -- well, that's not entirely true, Rush admitted. The greatest and most perfect president ever -- Ronald Reagan -- did it, when he saved Harley-Davidson. Obama is “killing everybody. He's harming everybody, I mean politically and economically. He's not just not helping guys like you; he is destroying opportunity for everybody in the private sector, including guys like you. And when they start taxing your health-care benefits, you're gonna have less take-home pay. And they're figuring that you want health care so much, that it's so important to you, that you will go along with this.” The more you focus, Rush said, on what you're going to get from someone else, the more miserable you're going to be. We can affirm that that's the truth -- we've been hoping for a modicum of sense from Rush for some time now, and we're plenty miserable as a consequence.

Then Rush moved on to health care reform, which the caller was also concerned with. As you may recall, earlier this week Rush compared health care to dog kenneling. Today Rush took it in a different direction, comparing doctor check-ups to oil changes: “Let me give you this analogy. Read this the other day; it's a good point. Health-care insurance for prescriptions. Health-care insurance for doctors. Health-care insurance for just a standard check-up. Health-care insurance for a sore throat -- is like requiring automobile insurance for an oil change, or automobile insurance to rotate your tires. Nobody would even think of asking for insurance for that. Auto insurance is for accidents, when you have high costs, no -- whether you're at fault or not, you can't pay on your own. That's what the insurance is for, that's what it ought to be in health care.” Yes ... oil changes and doctor checkups. Here's the deal -- a typical oil change costs between $30 and $50, and many places offer coupons that make it even cheaper. In 2007, the average price of an annual physical was $116. What's more, an intrepid individual can go online or read a few books and figure out how to change his or her own oil; that same person is far less likely to have the knowledge or the means to do his or her own blood work.

The “goldmine” of a caller continued, hitting on some more of our favorite Rush themes. Rush helpfully explained: “Obama and Rahm Emmanuel and Axelrod -- these people running this show in the White House -- love this kind of chaos. The more unemployment, the more anger, the more angst, the more fear, the greater opportunity they have to go before the cameras every day and say, 'We've got a new crisis. Only government can fix it.' And people will willingly give up control of their lives 'cause people will trade their liberty for security.”

Rush came back from the commercial break describing how Obama is expanding government at everybody's expense, and that nobody is benefitting except for his “labor buddies.” Unions are “everywhere” in everything Obama wants to do. Obama says he's helping the little guy, but he's not helping anyone but himself, Rush explained.

Back from another break, and Rush took a caller who heaped praise on our favorite radio host for the way he handled the caller at the top of the hour. The caller declared that Rush is “truly a national treasure.” El Rushbo took the call as an opportunity to launch a rant about the ills of society and government. And, of course, Obama and the “Democrat Party.” He started off by explaining that the crisis mentality wouldn't exist if not for the media, because every day there's a new scare tactic, like Al Gore scaring kids about global warming. Meanwhile, “snake oil salesman” Obama says he can fix everything, despite evidence of government failure after failure.

Things went downhill from there, as Rush aired his displeasure with the evils liberalism has visited upon society. Our children aren't being taught the founders in schools, people are being told that they aren't smart and they will be discriminated against, etc. It all comes down to how Rush feels about “wasted human potential.” “It's understandable that we would have wasted human potential in totalitarian regimes like Zimbabwe, or Cuba, or the old Soviet Union, or China, but not here. Not here.” Rush elaborated:

Human potential and people rising above themselves. People pursuing excellence without a whole lot of obstacles in their way and shackles attached to 'em -- it's what built this country. And anybody with a brain knows it, even the people who are trying to build this country in a different way. The truth is, the Obama-ites are not trying to build the country. They're trying to take it over. And to do that they're trying to build and grow government. Not because they think it's going to improve your life, they're not interested in that. They're interested in controlling your life for the sake of it.

We can start talking about why all you want, but one big reason why is they've got contempt for you. After 50 years of telling you you're worthless, you are.

Then Rush moved onto the “black population” and had this to say: “Well, let me ask you something. Go talk to any of the 93 percent, 92 percent of the black population that votes for Obama, and ask them what the Democrat Party has done for them. Substantively, it's zero. They're still complaining about the same things they've been complaining about since before the civil rights era. They're complaining about discrimination. They're complaining about racism. They have evolved businesses like Reverend Jackson and Reverend Sharpton, for leaders to make millions of dollars trading off imagined racism and keeping people at war with each other over race, and now gender. And now over sexual orientation. Yet they vote Democrat every year -- every ticket.”

After another well-deserved break, Rush came back with a caller who claimed that Obama was “dropping the ball” with Iran because he's not helping them with their revolution. Then Rush launched into a rant -- similar to the one yesterday -- in which he described as “a shame” what Obama is doing in regards to Iran and the Middle East. Rush again took issue with Obama's remark yesterday that he didn't want the U.S. to be seen as meddling with the elections. Rush was aghast that Obama thinks that “standing up for freedom” is “meddling.” Obama, Rush declared, is failing to continue the tradition of every other president to defend liberty.

Simon Maloy, Lauren Bruck, and Zachary Pleat contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.

Outrageous remarks:

LIMBAUGH: He is killing everybody. He's harming everybody, I mean politically and economically. He's not just not helping guys like you; he is destroying opportunity for everybody in the private sector, including guys like you. And when they start taxing your health-care benefits, you're gonna have less take-home pay. And they're figuring that you want health care so much, that it's so important to you, that you will go along with this.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Let me give you this analogy. Read this the other day; it's a good point. Health-care insurance for prescriptions. Health-care insurance for doctors. Health-care insurance for just a standard check-up. Health-care insurance for a sore throat -- is like requiring automobile insurance for an oil change, or automobile insurance to rotate your tires. Nobody would even think of asking for insurance for that. Auto insurance is for accidents, when you have high costs, no -- whether you're at fault or not, you can't pay on your own. That's what the insurance is for, that's what it ought to be in health care.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Obama and Rahm Emmanuel and Axelrod -- these people running this show in the White House -- love this kind of chaos. The more unemployment, the more anger, the more angst, the more fear, the greater opportunity they have to go before the cameras every day and say, “We've got a new crisis. Only government can fix it.” And people will willingly give up control of their lives 'cause people will trade their liberty for security.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: But as an American citizen, and as someone who has just had more success than I ever dreamed of, and lived a life my parents would not comprehend - my parents would not believe it - my experiences in context are such that it's a crying shame for me to look at all the wasted human potential in this country. It's understandable that we would have wasted human potential in totalitarian regimes like Zimbabwe, or Cuba, or the old Soviet Union, or in China, but not here. Not here.

Human potential and people rising above themselves. People pursuing excellence without a whole lot of obstacles in their way and shackles attached to 'em -- it's what built this country. And anybody with a brain knows it, even the people who are trying to build this country in a different way. The truth is, the Obama-ites are not trying to build the country. They're trying to take it over. And to do that they're trying to build and grow government. Not because they think it's going to improve your life, they're not interested in that. They're interested in controlling your life for the sake of it.

We can start talking about why all you want, but one big reason why is they've got contempt for you. After 50 years of telling you you're worthless, you are.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Well, let me ask you something. Go talk to any of the 93 percent, 92 percent of the black population that votes for Obama, and ask them what the Democrat Party has done for them. Substantively, it's zero. They're still complaining about the same things they've been complaining about since before the civil rights era. They're complaining about discrimination. They're complaining about racism. They have evolved businesses like Reverend Jackson and Reverend Sharpton, for leaders to make millions of dollars trading off imagined racism and keeping people at war with each other over race, and now gender. And now over sexual orientation. Yet they vote Democrat every year -- every ticket.