This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the Arab world's “love” for “dictators” -- like Obama
By Simon Maloy

Rush got the second hour started by explaining the details of an unprecedented and risky mission by NASA to repair the Hubble telescope. The whole thing does have a bit of a Michael Bay feel to it, given that astronauts aboard the shuttle Atlantis will be conducting repairs, but should something happen to Atlantis, the shuttle Endeavour will be on stand-by to blast off on a rescue mission, something that's never been done before.

Coming back from the commercial break, Rush got back to politics, airing audio of Howard Dean saying on CNBC last week: “I think we had quite enough capitalism in the last eight years and I think we need some regulation now.” Rush said it's becoming apparent to him that the shocking and surprising end result of eight years of attacking Bush over Iraq and the economy is that the American way of life is over and capitalism is over. It's “mind-boggling,” said Rush, and there's a “genuine dislike” for this country among Democrats and a preference for it to be transformed into something else. Rush's hope, he claimed, is that not nearly as many Americans understand and support what the Democrats are proposing as it appears.

Rush then moved on to a Rasmussen poll on cap-and-trade, which Rush said demonstrates a huge gap between Main Street and Capitol Hill. According to the poll, just 24 percent of Americans know that cap-and-trade relates to the environment. Rush thought this would redound to Obama's favor, given that the vast majority of Obama voters have no idea what he stands for or any idea of how much damage he's causing them.

Rush was still in a polling state of mind, so he moved on to a Reuters report on a new Ipsos poll that shows Obama's “popularity in leading Arab countries far outstrips that of the United States, suggesting he could be able to boost goodwill in the region toward his country.” Rush explained: “Does that surprise anybody, that Obama would have a higher approval number than the country he is elected to represent? One of the things that must be said about this is Arabs love dictators. They do. You will not find -- would you show me a representative republic in the Arab world? Would you show me a free-wheeling democracy in the Arab world? They like dictators.”

Coming back from the break, Rush took a call from a woman who didn't understand how the media and members of Congress who have families can't appreciate that Bush and Cheney kept them safe after 9-11. Rush said she's asking the wrong question because it assumes that these people are rational. The liberal mind is an irrational mind, Rush said. They don't think releasing terrorists into the general population puts the country at risk. Perhaps the reason liberals don't view that as a risk is because it isn't going to happen, but we digress ... Rush said that liberals don't view America as a special place, and they think that just by showing the world that there is a new America that doesn't threaten them, then they're going to love us. Rush then aired another audio clip of Cheney from Face the Nation in which the former veep said it will be a tough sell for the country to transfer Gitmo detainees to American soil. Rush said it's pure irrationality to release these prisoners into the U.S. (remember, they won't be).

Rush's next caller said he was seeing no progress on the economy or in foreign policy, and asked when Obama will be judged by results and not by rhetoric. Rush said that's what everyone is asking him -- when is Obama going to own all of this? “Try never,” said Rush. They're just going to blame Bush for everything that's gone wrong, and as long as there is a sycophantic mainstream media, the majority of the American people will buy it. The only way the GOP can get Obama to assume some ownership on this is to contrast conservatism with what he's doing. The biggest mistake for the GOP, said Rush, would be to follow Colin Powell's advice.

One more break and Rush was back, reading extensively and approvingly from a Dick Morris piece on how Powell's prescription for Republicans is wrong, because “Obama's brave new world will be the subject of the 2010 elections. We believe that his Congress will be swept from power as a result.” Now, one of the great things about Dick Morris is that he loves to make predictions. What's even better is the fact that Morris is almost always wrong, often spectacularly so. Rush loved the piece, however, because Morris was echoing what Rush has been saying for weeks -- this is a “golden opportunity” for the GOP to contrast itself with Obama.

Highlights from Hour 2

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: Does that surprise anybody, that Obama would have a higher approval number than the country he is elected to represent? One of the things that must be said about this is Arabs love dictators. They do. You will not find -- would you show me a representative republic in the Arab world? Would you show me a free-wheeling democracy in the Arab world? They like dictators. Iraq doesn't count any -- we've liberated Iraq.