Regardless of your political views, it is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to abhor the recent comments reiterated by Rush Limbaugh:  “I hope Obama fails.” That our incredibly propagandistic, establishment-protecting MSM is constantly playing the comments back on an endless loop the past couple of days is a topic for another post.  But the fact is, Rush is proud of his statement, which he first made fully 4 days before Obama was even inaugurated.  He is shamelessly milking it for all it’s worth to garner ratings and attention for himself and his show.

Comments like these put Limbaugh squarely in the same camp with pre-election idiotic comments by Sarah “Palling around with terrorists” Palin or that bizarre lady who probably smells like mothballs that called Obama an Arab.  And that is exactly the kind of non-thinking, reaction-inducing bilge this country does not need right now.

There isn’t time today for me to break down the arguments behind what Limbaugh is saying, except to say they are incredibly specious and not backed up by any rigorous semblance of facts.  But there is little doubt he is doing it in part for the attention it garners.  As he says himself:

“The Administration is enabling me,” he wrote in an email to POLITICO. “They are expanding my profile, expanding my audience and expanding my influence. An ever larger number of people are now being exposed to the antidote to Obamaism: conservatism, as articulated by me. An ever larger number of people are now exposed to substantive warnings, analysis and criticism of Obama’s policies and intentions, a ‘story’ I own because the [mainstream media] is largely the Obama Press Office.”

Tell me, Rush, is this the same “conservatism” that led to the doubling of our National Debt under Bush, a figure that even Obama’s own chief of staff, Rahm Immanuel, underestimated by 20% in a recent interview?  Is this the conservatism that led us into a war with a country who had nothing to do with 9/11, and which now has cost us more than 4,000 American lives, and over TWO TRILLION DOLLARS and still growing?  Is that the kind of conservatism you’re talking about, Loudmouth?

Is there anyone in America who is more flagrantly self-serving, intellectually dishonest, or who shows less interest in the good of the country’s well-being than him?  I think it would be difficult to argue so, and not because “I heart Obama” or I wish Limbaugh would get ahold of some bad Dominican Viagra.  It’s just bad form, in every possible sense of the word.

This country has been financially devastated over the past 8 years by poor (and I would argue criminal) economic policy, a total lack of regulation, and corporate greed run amok.  The unemployment rate is as high as it’s been in decades, 20% of homes are worth less than what is owed on them, and we are now TRILLIONS more in debt than we were at the start of this decade.  Our country’s trade imbalance worsens by the day thanks to destructive and worthless free trade policies that ship jobs overseas, our banking system and automotive industry are teetering on collapse, and we are now regarded as a torturing, war-mongering country by most of the world.

Yet, Rush Limbaugh “hopes Obama fails.”

By doing so, Rush hopes America fails.  Rush hopes that more people lose their homes.  Rush hopes that someone else in your family loses his or her job.  Rush hopes that healthcare does not become more affordable, or that more people who don’t have coverage get it in the near future.  Rush hopes that large banking institutions fail (as deserving as it may sound, it is not a good idea), and that more large, nationwide companies like Circuit City go out of business.  Rush hopes that small businesses can’t afford to get loans to keep their companies (and their employees) going.  And Rush hopes that no one who is responsible for the situation we find ourselves in is held to account for what they’ve done.

Is that you?  Do you wish for those things?  Does Rush Limbaugh represent your views on this?

Let’s be real:  Obama is not going to be able to solve all of our problems, but he is going to do the best he can to fix as many of these issues that were left on his desk by the previous administration as he can through his leadership of those who work for him.  For sure, Obama was left with an incredibly long list of extremely serious problems that he did not create.  He will make mistakes, and yes, he should be held accountable when that happens, precisely unlike our previous president.  But given the boggling amount of inept leadership, single-mindedly partisan politics, and outright malfeasance of the previous 8 years, (all of which Rush Limbaugh personally cheered on at the very top of his overweight, oxycontin-spiked lungs), is there any possible way an even minimally patriotic citizen of this country could wish Obama to fail?  At this (or any other) critical time?

Rush Limbaugh:  The Least Patriotic Person in America.