Absolutely incredible that the President of the United States feels like he has time to spar with a radio host. Does he have nothing better to do?

No, running us even deeper into debt was a higher priority.

MarcM, my mother suffers from severe back pain and will be having surgery to (hopefully) fix it. There is a 50/50 chance the pain will improve and a less, but still significant chance that the pain will get worse.
I cry every time I talk to my mom because of listening to her voice through her pain. She is on the same sort of drugs that Limbaugh was on.
My boyfriend’s mom had back surgery that was botched. She is in a pain that will only end with death. The surgery that she had is the one my mom is going to have.
That you mock Limbaugh’s use of pain killers, you mock every person that has that sort of pain.
Nice.

Limbaugh has had higher unfavorability ratings than Bill Ayers has had.
There are conservatives that disagree about Limbaugh. Some conservatives are able to see good in people they do not agree with politically. For example, Rod Dreher, “I’m increasingly thinking that Limbaugh and what he represents is bad for conservatism. … Erin, I don’t believe Obama is a social conservative, nor does Obama present himself as one. What I’m saying is the life he leads, in terms of his personal demeanor and the way he appears to conduct himself with his family, is exemplary from the perspective of what you and I value most. I’m talking here about the political importance of image. I’d rather have in office a politician who lived incorrigibly, but advocated the right policies. Still, it can’t be denied that image is powerfully important in our society. I would rather my children grow up to emulate the way Obama carries himself and treats his wife and kids than the way Limbaugh lives.”
Rush burst onto the scene in the early 1990s, and immediate enjoyed a base of favorable supporters, amounting to 25-30% of the public. Initially there was substantial lack of awareness of him as well, as we’d expect with new media figures. Those unaware or unable to rate him were over 40% initially. But as his visibility exploded, this lack of awareness shrank sharply to about 20%, where it has remained ever since 1995.
But growth of awareness was not accompanied by a gain in favorable audience. Instead, favorable response has remained virtually unchanged since the early 1990s. Favorability has fluctuated between 25 and 30%. What has grown is unfavorable evaluations— from 30% before awareness expanded to a stable 50% unfavorable rating that has also been largely stable since 1995.
http://tinyurl.com/autzv6
Gallup poll completed Feb. 1, 28% percent of Americans view Limbaugh favorably, 45 percent unfavorably. The rest, 27 percent, express no opinion.”
One of thousands of Limbaugh statements that I would not want my children to emulate, Limbaugh’s recent comment about the health care initiative:
“Before it’s all over, it’ll be called the Ted Kennedy memorial health care bill”

MzEllen, I am sorry to hear about your mother and your boyfriend’s mom. But was there ever an injury in Rush Limbaugh’s case? I can’t say that I recall.

I can give Limbaugh a break on the pain killer addiction.
I cannot give him a break on the hate and twisted/false information he spews.
From a liberal view point – alert – a comical graphic picture at the end of the video.
http://tinyurl.com/btme5h

Robert, Limbaugh had back pain and a botched surgery that caused even more pain.
I cannot give him a break on the hate and twisted/false information he spews.
While I will not interact with you, this is a perfect example of your inability to have civil discourse without making accusations.
Julie, it is very sad that you cannot disagree with a person politically without accusing them of hatred and falsehood.
It is even more sad that you will not even commit to civil discourse without making accusations here.

here in the conservatives’ lair, we find nothing but support for limbaugh from all of his loyal lemmings. all two of them (oops, i mean four, since it has doubled).
and just how much time has the president of the united states spent sparring with limbaugh? really, you give the radio dork way too much credibility.

You’ve read very selectively, haven’t you?
I don’t listen to Limbaugh and I don’t consider him my “leader”.
I do think it’s rather pathetic that liberals seem to have the need to mock pain, accuse those who disagree with them of spreading falsehoods and to call conservatives names – and (at least here) it’s the default.
I continue to ask for civil discourse…

Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have no education beyond high school. So it’s hilarious when these two flunkies complain about the intellectual elite on college campuses. How would they know? Neither one of them ever went to college. And isn’t it wonderful that the poorly educated and delusional right wingnuts worship these two pinheads and hang onto their every word?

Another Unproven Statement – Limbaugh’s Rating Increase
The Post provides no facts to back up the assertion; no ratings numbers. No nothing to substantiate the claim. How does the Post know Limbaugh’s nationwide ratings have “doubled” in the last month?
It appears that not even Limbaugh knows if his ratings have doubled. Today, Byron York at the Washington Examiner asked the turbo talker about his ratings. This was Limbaugh’s response, in full:
“The latest numbers I have are for January, well before this kerfuffle began, and they are through the roof — six shares in NY, for example. There are daily ratings taken now in about the top 15 markets but I have not seen them yet. All I can tell you is that as of January, we booked 80 percent of all our 2008 revenue and we’ll be over 2008 by the end of this month.”

Limbaugh is nothing more than a Fr. Coughlin at best or a Goebbels at worst.
Mark my words – we have not seen the bottom of this depression – and the deeper we go, the more Rush will seek villains for his stories.
Let’s pick which minority group we think he’ll choose.

Examples of a few Limbaugh false or disgusting comments.
Limbaugh accused Sebelius of blocking KS tax refunds, ignoring Republicans’ budget demands
Monday, March 2, 2009
Limbaugh calls CBS’ Rodriguez an “anchorette,” then corrects to “anchor,” citing his “women’s summit[s]” February 28, 2009
Limbaugh falsely claimed that taxes on “most small businesses” would increase if Bush tax cuts on wealthiest Americans expire February 23, 2009
Limbaugh misquoted Obama on home values, used it as evidence of Obama “talking down the economy” February 19, 2009
Limbaugh op-ed misrepresents reason for stimulus January 29, 2009
Limbaugh falsely claimed Clinton “imposed” international family planning funding policy January 22, 2009
# Limbaugh falsely suggests Planned Parenthood mainly provides abortions January 15, 2009
# Ignoring pre-election remarks, media advance theme that Obama only now acknowledges he may have to “scale back” campaign agenda January 12, 2009
Limbaugh falsely claimed Bush waited until his second term to replace “some” of Clinton’s U.S. attorneys December 10, 2008
# Limbaugh smears Obama with misrepresentation of comments on Constitution October 28, 2008
# Conservative media figures allege Obama’s Hawaii trip is about discredited birth-certificate rumors, not his ailing grandmother October 23, 2008
# Limbaugh falsely claimed “[t]here’s no evidence” Obama wrote anything before Dreams from My Father “except a poem” October 13, 2008
Limbaugh repeats baseless smear that Obama is misrepresenting his ethnicity* September 22, 2008
Limbaugh continues to repeat falsehood that Obama favors “infanticide” September 4, 2008 (also repeated by Michele and many others)
# Limbaugh falsely claimed Biden “wanted to split Iraq into three different countries by ethnic lines” August 29, 2008
# Discussing Obama, Limbaugh suggests Dems, media believe “you can’t criticize the little black man-child” August 20, 2008
Coulter, Limbaugh smeared Obama with false claim that he “believes it is proper to kill a baby that has survived an abortion” August 20, 2008
# Limbaugh on Obama: “[H]e loathes America. He blames America. America’s responsible for all that’s wrong in the world” July 22, 2008
# Limbaugh again invoked discredited Fort Marcy Park smear of Clintons, July 8, 2008
Limbaugh on Obama: His “only chance of winning is that he’s black” June 2, 2008
Limbaugh on Dem primary: If “feminazis” had remembered to oppose “affirmative action for black guys … they wouldn’t face the situation they face today” May 21, 2008
Limbaugh: “[A] lot of these feminists and women … think they’re owed” a Clinton win; “they’ve had two or three abortions” April 1, 2008
Limbaugh falsely asserted that “you won’t find a Senate bill with [Obama's] name on it” January 9, 2008
2004 False Limbaugh statements:
* Limbaugh lied about 9-11 Commission report
* Limbaugh falsely claimed “Nobody ever said there was” a connection between Iraq, 9-11 attacks – Nov 2004
* Limbaugh misrepresented Duelfer report on Iraqi WMDs – Oct 2004
* Limbaugh lied about AIDS – Jun 2004
* Limbaugh overstated the minimum wage – Aug 2004
* Limbaugh made false claims about the Democratic National Convention
* Limbaugh distorted the Kyoto Protocol
* Limbaugh falsely accused Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
* Limbaugh claimed Clintons are funding Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
* Limbaugh lied to defend Swift Boat Vets
* Limbaugh misstated Pew report on journalists
* Limbaugh mischaracterized the federal deficit
* Limbaugh misstated federal education spending
* Limbaugh lied about Bush’s false uranium claim

CPAC: White kids on dope Sunday March 1, 2009 Categories: Conservatism
http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/03/cpac-white-kids-on-dope.html
Verily, that’s the way to bring the party back: blame the media. I talked to a conservative the other day who assured me that Obama’s success is entirely a creation of the lying biased media, which tricked people into voting for him. The unpopularity of Republican policies has nothing to do with it. Why, we have that from the mouth of America’s Top Conservative, who said at CPAC:
Rush Limbaugh, touted by many conservatives as the de facto head of the party in the interregnum, closed the conference with his own speech. “We can take this country back,” the radio host told the assembly. “All we need is to nominate the right candidate. It’s no more complicated than that.”
Yep, it’s just that easy. No need to return to first principles and recalibrate policies to account for new realities. Just find a better messenger for the same old same old. You begin to see why nobody inside that bubble could grasp what a flop Bobby Jindal’s reheated Republican mush of a speech was going to be ahead of time.

Lets not forget how Rush had made the comment during the Bush administration that criticizing then President Bush was Un-American & Un-Patriotic.
Now he’s criticizing President Obama and saying how he hopes he fails.
Hypocrite. This is one of the many reasons I don’t listen to this person.
If he’s the real Republican Party leader, as he likes to suggest, this is simply another reason I’ll never support the Republican Party. I’ve had enough the last eight years with Former President Bush, The Republican Party and Mr. I know best, Limbaugh.

I am sorry as I was reading Julies comments I cannot help but think she is using half truths and mis information to make a pointe .As most dems and(libs)do.Fact Biden did say breaking up Iraq into 3 parts was the way to go the only way.Fact Mr.Obama did agree in the Illinois senate that having Dr.not treat a child after it has surrvived an abortion and try to save the life was ok. Why wont people respectfully argue the merits of thier positions with honesty putting in a bunch of dates and statements together doesn’t make your argument true it just shows you are willing to put a date on your STUPIDITY.Unfortunatly we are stuck with Obama thats ok.We are Americans and we can rise up as they have been all around the country with the tea party”s and I am sure more are to come

Rush NEVER said He hopes Obama would fail.His comment was if he adopted Regan like tax cuts and reached out He would support him If He (Obama) moves forward with a socialist agenda he wants that to fail and yes wants Obamas policies to fail and so do I if that is his agenda and with what I have seen the re distribution of wealth card check for unions(open)ballots instead of secret ballots etc. I beileve his(Obamas) agenda is socialist>And who really believes that when taxes get raised on companies and so on that the working man/women is not the one who is really going to pay for it and NOT the corporations. And as far as being or saying people where un-patriotic He(Rush) was not refering to people critisising Bush it was critisising the country while we are at war >Example Harry Ried saying the war is lost befor the surge had begun.I guess He(Reid) should say sorry or jack Murtha saying our troops MURDERED inocent people now he is being sued by the men whio were found of NO wrong doing.But if you don”t listen you wouldn”t know would ya

MzEllen, thanks for answering my question. There’s been so much water under so many bridges I really had forgotten.
I almost never agree with Limbaugh (it does happen occasionally). But I do admire his talent for holding the attention of his audience. Obama could take a few lessons, actually.

Your Name said, “Fact Mr.Obama did agree in the Illinois senate that having Dr.not treat a child after it has surrvived an abortion and try to save the life was ok. ”
The bills Obama voted on were “definitions” laws. Illinois already had a law making it a felony to not treat a born alive baby. After Obama was in Congress, Illinois finally passed the law with full support of all sides of the issue by inserting one line that it would not overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Born alive” votes fuel abortion fight
October 9th, 2008
http://tinyurl.com/3v6a7c
‘Born Alive’ Baloney September 24, 2008
An abortion survivor claims she would have died if Obama had his way. She’s wrong.
tinyurl . com /4bhb7n
Obama & Infanticide tinyurl . com /69yu3t
A Matter of Definition
What we can say is that many other people–perhaps most–think of “infanticide” as the killing of an infant that would otherwise live. And there are already laws in Illinois that physicians performing abortions when the fetus is viable must use the procedure most likely to preserve the fetus’ life

No, I am not the “Your Name” just above.
Gwydionn9, there is a difference between the country and the president.
There is a difference between hoping that the president does not succeed in pushing his policies through, and hoping that the country fails.
I want my country to flourish – so I want the right policies to be put into place. If nationalized health care, massive spending sprees and raising taxes are not the path to success, why on earth would I want to person pushing them to succeed in the effort to put them into place?
If President Obama would happen to lead in a more centrist ways, I would hope that he succeeds in putting policies into place that benefit our country.
However…that’s not happening.

Why wont people respectfully argue the merits of thier positions with honesty putting in a bunch of dates and statements together doesn’t make your argument true it just shows you are willing to put a date on your STUPIDITY.

I have listened to Limbaugh since 1991. Having gone to a Quaker prep school and experienced the contradictions of Liberalism and pacifism, I enjoy Rush’s humorous exposure of those contradictions.
Indeed in the spirit of Limbaugh I predict that when the stimulus package does not create utopia, some of the Democrats will call for the “nationalization of parenting,” that all children should be sent to an American equivalent of the Soviet pioneers.
But the Bible warns that “in the multitude of words there does not lack sin.” Limbaugh’s satire may be good, but it’s not the Gospel.

All I can say is that fortunately the talk radio station I listen to did not renew their contract to have Limbaugh fill the 12:00-3:00PM spot daily. I used to turn off the station during those times as even a minute of him was utterly sickening. He is such a waste of air time. I’d turn it back on after 3:00 to listen again.

Interesting article written by a conservative Republican that is “livid and angry” about Limbaugh being seen as the voice/head of the Republican Party. A small extract:
Why Rush is Wrong By David Frum, Conservative Republican
The party of Buckley and Reagan is now bereft and dominated by the politics of Limbaugh. A conservative’s lament.
On the one side, the president of the United States: soft-spoken and conciliatory, never angry, always invoking the recession and its victims. This president invokes the language of “responsibility,” and in his own life seems to epitomize that ideal: He is physically honed and disciplined, his worst vice an occasional cigarette. He is at the same time an apparently devoted husband and father. Unsurprisingly, women voters trust and admire him.
And for the leader of the Republicans? A man who is aggressive and bombastic, cutting and sarcastic, who dismisses the concerned citizens in network news focus groups as “losers.” With his private plane and his cigars, his history of drug dependency and his personal bulk, not to mention his tangled marital history, Rush is a walking stereotype of self-indulgence—exactly the image that Barack Obama most wants to affix to our philosophy and our party. And we’re cooperating! Those images of crowds of CPACers cheering Rush’s every rancorous word—we’ll be seeing them rebroadcast for a long time.
Rush knows what he is doing. The worse conservatives do, the more important Rush becomes as leader of the ardent remnant. The better conservatives succeed, the more we become a broad national governing coalition, the more Rush will be sidelined.
…
Rush Limbaugh is a seriously unpopular figure among the voters that conservatives and Republicans need to reach. Forty-one percent of independents have an unfavorable opinion of him, according to the new NEWSWEEK Poll. Limbaugh is especially off-putting to women: his audience is 72 percent male, according to Pew Research. Limbaugh himself acknowledges his unpopularity among women. On his Feb. 24 broadcast, he said with a chuckle: “Thirty-one-point gender gaps don’t come along all that often … Given this massive gender gap in my personal approval numbers … it seems reasonable for me to convene a summit.”
Sometimes I get livid and angry … We’ve got factions now within our own movement seeking power to dominate it, and, worst of all, to redefine it.
http://tinyurl.com/ambo3c

“I continue to ask for civil discourse…”
start by setting an example. and then ask for it from michele.
i believe i read a comment of yours saying that you listen to limbaugh. i guess i’ll have to dig it up.
“If President Obama would happen to lead in a more centrist ways, I would hope that he succeeds in putting policies into place that benefit our country.”
again, after bush, we have the country leaning farther right than ever before in history, and righties are complaining that they want obama to lead in “more centrist ways.” i’m pretty sure i didn’t hear them saying that about bush.
obama comes up with a stimulus plan that includes many centrist ideas for helping the economy. but it’s not a rightie’s dream. it’s just not good enough for them. so the paint him as a leftist, or worse… a socialist. *gasp*

Julie, you care too much, I think. Rush Limbaugh is – and has always been, and has never aspired to be more than – a conservative entertainer. He’s absolutely tickled at all this fooraw; today he agreed with a caller that his (to regular listeners) clear and absolutely sensible statement that if Obama’s going to hew to the giant-government, “never waste a good crisis” line he appears to be starting out on, naturally Rush wants him to fail, was a useful statement, even as it’s willfully misinterpreted, because it gets the conversation going. And beyond that, he thinks it’s just funny that the President of the United States has set himself up in opposition to a radio talk show host – and not just once!
Don’t care so much.
Rush doesn’t actually hate, though strenuous criticism does appear to sound like “hate” to many on the Left; he critiques, and he mocks. He critiques based on his observations of liberals over his adult life and based on history, and he mocks from a particular ideological viewpoint. His listeners get it, get him, and generally agree. Those who dislike-to-hate him listen to him a few times, are almost always outraged at what they hear (after all, they disagree – he’s not out to convert so much as to confirm his audience’s political beliefs, which he shares), and absolutely fail to understand the satire, the pretend-self-aggrandizing humor (“I know liberals like every inch of my glorious naked body” – you think he doesn’t know what he looks like?), the verbal shortcuts that the preacher to the choir can easily use.
As for the person who scorned both Limbaugh (whom I often enjoy) and Hannity (whom I never enjoy) for not having been to college, my friend, your argument is classic appeal-to-authority; it’s what we college gradgimates call a “logical fallacy.” Not having attended college neither means that a person is stupid nor disqualifies that person from speaking on an easily learned-about subject like the obvious and well-documented liberal bias in academia.

dear college gradgimate (aka your name), as i am not a limbaugh listener – let alone a regular – i often wonder what the radio clown had to say about former president bush and his use of the “never waste a good crisis” career plan. after all, it did carry him through the 9.11 crisis (he got a lot of mileage from that one!), and win him enough congressional votes to obliterate iraq, allow him to spy illegally, carry out torture, and to squeeze off a second term. and what most people aren’t aware of, he actually was able to cash in on the crisis caused by katrina, as well.
so, mon ami, did limbaugh share with his loyal flock his hope that bush would fail during the eight years that he was hewing to the giant-government, as you would say? and know that it’s not that i care so much about limbaugh, but i care about his audience, those whose political beliefs he shares.
academia has a liberal bias, you say? well, i can’t argue with that one.