Hour 2: Limbaugh distorts Obama's comments to claim he “kinda env[ies] Al Qaeda”
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the Rush's valiant assaults on the straw man army
By Simon Maloy
Rush got the second hour started by noting that Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, in 1960, famously banged his shoe on his desk at the UN and threatened to “bury” the assembled congregation. Rush expanded on Khrushchev's threats: “But as I think back on it, what Khrushchev was actually saying was that 'Communists will bury you. We are eventually going to take you over.' My question -- and somebody help me out on this -- did he give a date? Everybody assumes that Khrushchev was going to do it during his tenure. And of course it didn't happen during his tenure. But I know the communists. I mean, they don't have four-year increments like we have with presidents and administrations. I don't think Khrushchev gave a date -- something to ponder.”
Then Rush moved on to Obama's speech at FBI headquarters this morning, claiming: “This was a replay of his trip to the CIA. They grabbed the secretarial pool again -- just like they did at the CIA -- put them in the lobby out there.” For those who aren't familiar, Rush operates under the concept that everyone in the national security sector -- except for the secretaries -- hates Obama and would never show up to see him speak, let alone cheer or applaud for him. Anyway, Rush aired a sound bite of Obama saying: “We know that Al Qaeda is not constrained by a constitution or by allegiance to anything other than a hateful ideology and a determination to kill as many innocents as possible.” Rush interpreted this for us: “So, what he's basically again saying, 'Look, I kinda envy Al Qaeda. They're not constrained by a constitution like I am. But don't worry, I'm working on getting rid of that constitution or changing it, so that it's not such a burden on me.' ” As we explained the last time Rush made this cockamamie argument, Obama is actually praising the Constitution because it separates us from Al Qaeda.
After airing audio of Obama saying at the FBI: “We are always stronger when we act in concert with our most deeply held values.” Rush then pronounced that he was “offended” by the notion that we betray our values when we engage in acts to defend the country. We could only find one person who says that defending the country is antithetical to our values, and he happens to be made completely of straw. As such, Rush was quite easily able to knock him and his argument down, asking what values Obama is talking about. “His values are not the same as mine when it comes to this country.”
Then Rush returned to the Air Force One flyover, claiming that no one can get that plane off the ground other than President Obama. But the Los Angeles Times reported that the “flight was authorized as a publicity photo shoot by the Defense Department.” Rush appears to be confused: With the president not on board, the plane isn't officially Air Force One, since that call sign is reserved so air traffic controllers will know that the president is on board without having to provide them a lengthy explanation; the airplanes the president regularly uses can be flown without the president on board. Nonetheless, Rush claimed that Obama had to know that he couldn't travel that day. In fact, the Air Force keeps on hand two jets to be used as Air Force One at any time. But even if Rush were right that Obama knew he couldn't travel that day, that's no guarantee Obama knew where that plane would be or what it would be doing. Nonetheless, armed with loads of speculation, Rush soldiered on, claiming that “everyone” had to know where Air Force One was. How did Rush know this? Because he knows where his private plane is at all times.
After the break, Rush was incredulous that Obama said the flyover “was something we found out about along with all of you and it will not happen again.” Rush said that the guy who took responsibility, White House military office director Louis Caldera, is part of the “we” Obama was talking about because he works in the White House! Again, that's true, but that's no guarantee that the president was briefed on his plane's photo shoot.
On the other side of the break, Rush took a call from a self-identified former Secret Service official who agreed with Rush that there is no way that Obama did not know where Air Force One was. Rush was glad this guy called in to back up Rush's wild speculation, and asked how it was the case that the White House military office director does not count as “we” to Obama, but the Navy SEALs who resolved the pirate hostage situation did count as “we” to Obama.
Rush's next caller claimed that it's un-American to buy American cars because you're just helping the unions, and that it's tough for him because he works at a GM dealership. Rush offered the caller some encouragement: "[Y]ou know, you're going to have some help. I wouldn't give up quitting the job just yet. You know, with the union owning 39 percent of General Motors, you're going to have some help. You know, when come in, want to test-drive a car and drive it. If they don't buy it, you know, you're going to have some guy walking around, threatening the potential buyers' kneecaps. It might be an easier sale."
Then it was time for another caller, this one saying that the panic caused by the Air Force One flyover yesterday was proof that terrorism is a real threat and not a tool used by the Republicans to get elected, as the Democrats alleged. Rush said this was a great point, cautioning yet another man of straw to not tell him that terrorism was just something Bush used as a tool and that it isn't real.
Before the break, Rush asked why they needed a publicity photo of Air Force One anyway. This was one of many unresolved questions that, in Rush's mind, means "[t]here's more to this than we know." Rush couldn't say what the “more” we don't know is, but he certainly seemed to imply that -- for reasons he declined to offer -- people in the Obama administration were fully aware that the flyover would cause a panic. We'll just refer you, once again, to our opening comments from the first hour...
After the break, Rush praised Michael Steele's response to Specter's defection, then returned to the flyover, responding to people asking if Obama was on Air Force One: “Folks, he wasn't on the airplane. He was at the FBI talking to the secretarial pool -- as though the secretarial pool was a bunch of agents -- and he was delivering a lecture on American values, like abortion. Well, he didn't talk about abortion. He said 'we're going to defend American values. We're not gonna waterboard Khalid Shaikh Mohammed; we're going to murder a million babies a year.' ” We have only one comment on this -- the flyover was yesterday; Obama spoke at the FBI today.
Rush ended the hour with a caller thrilled that Specter had joined the “leftists” in the Democratic Party. Rush expressed his surprise at Steele's response -- he thought the Republicans would bemoan their shrinking numbers.
Highlights from Hour 2
Outrageous comments
LIMBAUGH: Speaking of Obama, here is -- he went by FBI today. This was a replay of his trip to the CIA. They grabbed the secretarial pool again, just like they did at the CIA, put them in the lobby out there -- had this giant, big, “Oh yeah, we love you President Obama.” And here's a portion of his remarks.
OBAMA [audio clip]: Living our values means that we must hold ourselves to higher standards than our enemies. We face a long struggle against a determined adversary. We know that Al Qaeda is not constrained by a constitution or by allegiance to anything other than a hateful ideology and a determination to kill as many innocents as possible.
But what makes the United States of America so special is precisely the fact that we are willing to uphold our values and our ideals, not just when it's easy, but when it's hard.
LIMBAUGH: So, what he's basically again saying, “Look, I kinda envy Al Qaeda. They're not constrained by a constitution like I am. But don't worry, I'm working on getting rid of that constitution or changing it, so that it's not such a burden on me.”
I mean, guys like Obama look at the Constitution as a burden. He looks at Al Qaeda as sort of wistfully: “Gee, these guys aren't constrained by a constitution.”
[...]
LIMBAUGH: Well, you know, you're going to have some -- you know, you're going to have some help. I wouldn't give up quitting the job just yet. You know, with the union owning 39 percent of General Motors, you're going to have some help. You know, when come in, want to test-drive a car and drive it. If they don't buy it, you know, you're going to have some guy walking around, threatening the potential buyers' kneecaps. It might be an easier sale.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: Do you really believe that everybody involved had no idea that this would cause a panic? Do you really believe that everybody involved thought, “Big deal, we're gonna go up there and get a photo op in front of the statue. Nobody needs to know.”
Do we really believe that there's not one person in the chain of command that caused this event yesterday that didn't realize that a Boeing 747 at a thousand feet over Ground Zero was just going to be looked up as, “Oh, hey, Mae Bell, look at that. Why it's a little off course. I wonder what the president is doing.”
Is that really the reaction people are just gonna have? There's more to this than we know.
[...]
LIMBAUGH: “Rush, was President Obama on the plane? Could it be that -- do we know that he wasn't on it? Could it be that he wanted the photo op with it himself?”
Folks, he wasn't on the airplane. He was at the FBI talking to the secretarial pool -- as though the secretarial pool was a bunch of agents -- and he was delivering a lecture on American values, like abortion.
Well, he didn't talk about abortion. He said “we're going to defend American values. We're not gonna waterboard Khalid Shaikh Mohammed; we're going to murder a million babies a year. We're going to defend American values.”
“Socialism” watch
LIMBAUGH: But the then-Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, went to the United Nations, took off his shoe. Started pounding his shoe and said, “We will bury you, and we will bury your children.” Now, my grandparents' generation took that very seriously; they had to. But as I think back on it, what Khrushchev was actually saying was that “Communists will bury you. We are eventually going to take you over.”
My question -- and somebody help me out on this -- did he give a date? Everybody assumes that Khrushchev was going to do it during his tenure. And of course it didn't happen during his tenure. But I know the communists. I mean, they don't have four-year increments like we have with presidents and administrations. I don't think Khrushchev gave a date -- something to ponder.
Clips from this hour