Once again Rush’s statement was taken out of context. He was specifically referring to President Obama’s social agenda. He does not want him to fail personally but Rush is concerned that the country will be placed on the path of a socialist nation in direct conflict with the constitution. Our government is already huge and out of control. the Constitution does not give congress or the president the right to spend freely. President bush was also guilty of his by overspending and starting unnecessary and costly new government programs. We can argue the issues when we don’t take things out of context and discuss the true intent of the statements. To be fair, both the right AND the left have been guilty of this.

But in the radio sound clip above, Limbaugh clearly and in his signature bombastic style said, “I want everything he’s doing to fail.”

In the interview with Hannity, of course, he said the same thing, with the caveat that he supported Obama IF he enacted or maintained good conservative principles, but if Obama enacted and sought to maintain liberal principles, like supporting women’s rights, reversing Bush’s tax cuts, etc, he hoped Obama failed. He outright said he hoped the stimulus package failed. The rub is that Limbaugh knows Obama (though he claims the contrary), and he knows Obama’s not going to go against his own principles. He’s going to run the country as he thinks it needs to be run, that is, in the liberal framework. Thus, Limbaugh literally was saying he hoped Obama would fail, both generally and specifically. It wasn’t taken out of context, and the word “everything” wasn’t supposed to just mean Obama’s ”social agenda,” but all of his policies.

Though I certainly don’t agree with Robertson on most points, I do agree with him that Limbaugh was off base saying he hoped Obama failed. If Obama fails, we are in a world of trouble. If the stimulus package fails, we are in a world of trouble. Limbaugh’s multiple repetitions, “He is my president,” mean nothing. If he was your president, Rush, you would get behind him, at least until your party gets another attempt at the White House because if he fails, what does that mean? More chaos in the Middle East? Another attack on the country? A second Great Depression? If he fails, you may not have the ability to keep your radio show. You might end up in a soup kitchen with the rest of us.

Two interesting notes from the Hannity interview:

• Limbaugh said he didn’t think Obama would close down Gitmo. Oops.

“These executive orders represent a giant step forward. Putting an end to Guantanamo, torture and secret prisons is a civil liberties trifecta, and President Obama should be highly commended for this bold and decisive action so early in his administration on an issue so critical to restoring an America we can be proud of again. — Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU

• On health care, Limbaugh said, “If he gets nationalized health care, I mean, it’s over Sean, we’re never gonna roll that back. That’s the end of America as we have known it because that then’s going to set the stage for everything to be government-owned, operated or provided. Why would I want that to succeed? I don’t believe in that. I know that’s not how this country is gonna be great in the future. It’s not what made this country great. So, I shamelessly say, ‘No, I want him to fail, if his agenda is a far-left, collectivism, some people say socialism, as a conservative, heart-felt, why would I want socialism to succeed?’” Really?? First, he’s making some giant leaps, equating universal health care with all-out socialism. Second, is it truly over for countries like England, Singapore, China, and Germany? Singapore, it’s important to note, has the lowest infant mortality rate and one of the highest life expectancies in the world, according to the World Health Organization.