This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the Hummers that Obama destroyed
By Simon Maloy

Top of the second hour, and Rush returned with the G-20 summit still on the brain, claiming that even though Obama no longer has the magical “aura” from the campaign, it will be impossible for the G-20 to be reported as a “failure.” Once again, according to Rush, there's no way Obama or any other European leader would even be going if they weren't going to come out “smelling like a rose.” All Obama has to do is go over there and blame everything on Bush and he will be the hero, the savior of the G-20.

Back from the break Rush finally got to some calls, the first one from a man who thinks it's wrong for the president to “fire” CEOs because we elected him. The caller also announced that he's on his sixth Suburban, but he's also going to buy a Prius to save money on gas. Rush warned him off the Prius, saying that the caller had to do a cost analysis to figure out he'll be paying thousands of dollars more for the Prius. As for Obama, according to Rush, yes, we elected him, but the people who supported him are happy with his policies, and who is going to stop him anyway? Rush criticized RNC chairman Michael Steele for talking about his “partying days” instead of attacking Obama's auto industry policies.

Another caller, this one asking why he hasn't heard too much about the real problem with the auto industry -- the unions -- and saying that Obama is willing to have a tough conversation with everyone involved except the unions. Rush completely agreed, repeating his claim from yesterday that Obama's announcements yesterday were “payback for the unions,” and that Obama will not insist that the unions make any concessions. This argument would be a lot more compelling if Rush had not spent the previous hour detailing how the unions are upset with Obama over the GM/Chrysler announcement. That's some “payback for the unions.” Oh, and as we pointed out yesterday, Obama has already said that his auto industry plans “will require unions and workers who have already made painful concessions to make even more.” Anyway, before the break, Rush took a call from a woman who was upset that she was being attacked by her coworkers for driving a Corvette. Rush said she's been “stigmatized on purpose,” and that in the “era of Obama” it is “immoral” to drive a 'Vette.

Back from the break, Rush aired one of his parodies, this one of Kim Jong-Il speaking about Barack Obama. Setting up the parody, he said that “Sexretary of State Hillary Clinton says Japan has every right to defend itself.” If you thought “Sexretary” was funny, you should have heard the parody -- faux-Kim criticized Obama for being too slow in setting up a “socialist” paradise in America. Get it? Too slow! Well, we're no good at explaining these things, but trust us, it was classic.

After the parody, Rush apologized to the caller with the Corvette for being “flip” in his answer to her. Rush said that even though she paid a lot of money for the car, paid an extra tax for a car that was fuel-inefficient, and paid more money for higher quality gas, she was still being stigmatized, and that's not right. We're not sure how paying more money for something should insulate one from criticism.

The next couple of callers argued with Rush about certain car models and fuel efficiency, the culmination of which was Rush assuring that he would never tell them which car to buy, he would just tell them not to be an idiot and buy a Prius because they want to save the world. According to Rush: “But see now, our freedom -- our liberty and freedom to have the kinds of car we want is being attacked because we're being told by the central planners, the statist tyranny crowd in Washington, that our choices are wrong.”

To close out the hour, Rush returned to a topic he touched on earlier in the show -- the popularity of Hummers in Iraq. Then Rush read from a New York Times article which reported that car dealers across America are suffering from the fact Hummer sales are dropping precipitously. Rush was outraged! “Iraqis love it, and they're buying them as fast as they can, at full price and fully loaded. In a nation that is just emerging from the seventh century, thanks to us, and the people over there are buying Hummers and they're excited. And here in the world's greatest superpower, the greatest outpost for freedom ever in the world, the same automobile is being tarred, feathered, and destroyed by the Obama administration and the American left. Actually, Rush, the Times article you read from reported that ”[s]ales of Hummers over all have fallen so far -- 51 percent last year, the worst drop in the industry." That would be before Obama was in office allegedly talking down the Hummer, which means the vaunted free market just couldn't find room for the Hummer anymore.

So is Rush saying that the Hummer is too big to fail?

Highlights from Hour 2

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: But see now, our freedom -- our liberty and freedom to have the kinds of car we want is being attacked because we're being told by the central planners, the statist tyranny crowd in Washington, that our choices are wrong, that we're -- they're not good for the country, they're not good for the planet, and we have no right to drive things these -- we're going to have the size of our automobiles dictated to us.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: " 'Iraqis love Hummers because they're a symbol of power,' said Mr. Hilli, a chubby 37-year-old who couldn't stop laughing. Hummers in Baghdad are symbols of much more besides: increasing security, returning normalcy and a yearning for the trappings of sovereignty." That's what a Hummer represents to Iraqis. It helped that we didn't have such a bad opinion of Americans in one of the provinces, said Ali al-Hilli. " 'People often asked the soldiers to stop their Humvees so they could get their pictures taken in front of them. Soon conditions improved enough to drive all over the city. Hummer H3s began rumbling off the lot, at 50 to 60 grand apiece, in dollars, and all the money down, fully loaded. (No one wanted them any other way.)" No Iraqi wanted a bargain-basement Hummer; they wanted them fully loaded. “Iraqis are paying historically high prices for gasoline. At $1.40 a gallon, that would not break any American hearts, but not long ago in Iraq it was 19 cents.” It's now a buck forty. The increase had no effect on sales of Hummers. 'If you can afford this car, you don't care how much gasoline costs,' Mr. Hilli said. Iraqis love their cars. In Iraq, people judge you by your car, and you're not a man without one,' " he said. ... When it comes to Hummers, they will nearly always be bigger than anyone else's vehicle."

Now, I have another story out of St. Louis. Chesterfield, Missouri, near St. Louis, and it is -- well, it's The New York Times as well, I think: “A dealer's big bet is on the line as Hummer falls from favor.” Now remember, you just heard about the Hummer. Iraqis love it, and they're buying them as fast as they can, at full price and fully loaded. In a nation that is just emerging from the seventh century, thanks to us, and the people over there are buying Hummers and they're excited. And here in the world's greatest superpower, the greatest outpost for freedom ever in the world, the same automobile is being tarred, feathered, and destroyed by the Obama administration and the American left.

Ladies' man

LIMBAUGH: A little pot-bellied dictator in North Korea, Kim Jong-Il, claims they're going to launch some sort of a missile. Our intelligence tells us this missile is going to be launched between April 4th and April 8th. The Japanese are going on alert status; they may fire interceptor missiles at it. The Sexretary of State Hillary Clinton says Japan has every right to defend itself.

Clips from this hour:

Limbaugh quotes Ayn Rand - “The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters and intends to be the master” - and says, “That is President Obama.”

Rush laments Hummers being “tarred, feathered, and destroyed by the Obama administration and the American left”