This hour of the Limbaugh Wire brought to you by the Manchurian Candidate
By Simon Maloy

Rush kicked off the final hour by turning some lemons into lemonade, expressing his lack of animus toward conservatives who voted against McCain. Why? Because McCain wasn't really conservative anyhow -- he represented “watered down” conservatism, and now with Obama in office, conservatives have an opportunity to contrast “American conservatism” with “American liberalism.” Sorry for mixing metaphors, but apparently you can make lemonade out of sour grapes.

After offering this pep talk, Rush read extensively from a “brilliant” column on Obama by American Enterprise Institute director of economic policy studies, " 'Manchurian Candidate' Starts War on Business." Despite Rush's ardor for the idea that Obama is a “Manchurian Candidate” of some sort, he was ultimately disappointed that Hassett concluded that "[i]t's clear that President Obama wants the best for our country." Yeah, how dare he punctuate that wild diatribe with a hint of reasonableness.

After the break, Rush offered some words of encouragement to a woman whose children are serving in the military. No, wait, sorry -- “words of encouragement” should have read “smears of Democratic voters and Obama's foreign policy.” After declaring that “the foreign policy of this administration is to make friends with every enemy -- or as many as possible -- and to spit on our friends,” Rush credited the U.S. military for “triumph[ing] over one of the most concentrated efforts to demoralize them that has ever been undertaken by their own country,” perpetrated by “the Democrat Congress,” “the Democrat Party,” and “voters, average citizens who vote Democrat.”

Then he got positively apoplectic over Obama's proposal, in the words of the AP, that the military “identify moderate elements of the Taliban and move them toward reconciliation.” According to Rush, it demonstrated “scary, incompetent sophistry” and was “outrageous,” “irresponsible,” “incompetent,” and “unforgivable.”

Unfortunately for Rush, the AP also reported that the “idea of cooperation with some in the Taliban has been talked about for many months by American military commanders including Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command.” We eagerly anticipate Rush's denouncing of Gen. Petraeus' “scary, incompetent sophistry.”

Highlights from Hour 3

Outrageous comments

LIMBAUGH: It looks to me like the foreign policy of this administration is to make friends with every enemy -- or as many as possible -- and to spit on our friends.

CALLER: Yes, sir.

LIMBAUGH: And it's -- you -- OK. Why do this? Well, I think some of this is cultural. I think some in the Obama administration reject the traditions and institutions that have defined this country's greatness both domestically and in the arena of foreign policy, and they've got chips on their shoulders for whatever reason.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: The U.S. military in both Afghanistan and Iraq, for the first time in many of our lives, underwent and triumphed over one of the most concentrated efforts to demoralize them that has ever been undertaken by their own country.

CALLER: Yes, sir, by the Democrat Congress. Yes, sir, you're right. I called every one of them, too. I want you to know that.

LIMBAUGH: It wasn't just the Democrat Congress. It was the Democrat Party. It was voters, average citizens who vote Democrat, proclaiming victory was impossible, the war is already lost. And yet, the men and women on the ground, in the surge, in Iraq, prevailed. They overcame it all.

But it was striking for all of us, and it was hurtful, and it also made our blood boil to see the attempt to demoralize and dispirit members of our military by elements in our own country. That we had not seen before in such a concentrated way. There'd been pockets of it in Vietnam, after a while, but from the moment this war started, the Democrats sought to use it as a political wedge.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Obama said we need to reach out. And get this -- if -- now, folks --

CALLER: To the Taliban. I know what you're getting ready to say.

LIMBAUGH: If you want real sophistry -- this is scary, incompetent sophistry. You're exactly right, Beverly, we need to reach out to moderate members of the Taliban, like we did the Shia in -- there are no --

CALLER: Yes, sir.

LIMBAUGH: -- moderate Taliban. There are no moderate Al Qaeda. They are either dead or alive, but they are not moderate. And we've got a guy who wants to attach U.S. political labels to extreme, radical, thug terrorist murderers. It is outrageous.

CALLER: Yes, sir.

LIMBAUGH: There's no such thing as a moderate Taliban.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: Now, Obama did not specifically say we want to have a meeting with the Taliban. He said we need to reach out to moderate elements of the Taliban, just like we did in Iraq, to gang up on Muqi's boys -- Muqtada al-Sadr.

But that is just -- again. I'll tell you what's really frustrating about that. It's that kind of irresponsible rhetoric -- whether he means it or not -- if he means it it's a double bad whammy. If he's just saying it as a politician would because he knows or thinks that most Americans are squishy and would do anything to avoid conflict, and some of you would say, “Well, there are moderates in all of our enemies. There are moderates.” Just reach out -- if he thinks that'll keep his approval numbers up, that could be the reason.

Either way, it is irresponsible, and it is incompetent, and it is unforgivable to portray the Taliban or Al Qaeda -- it's the same thing as portraying Al Qaeda. Let's find a moderate bin Laden. It's just -- it's irresponsible, at the least. It's irresponsible and incompetent at the best. Well, there is no best -- at the worst.

Echo chamber

Read extensively from Hassett's “brilliant” Bloomberg column.