White House Lets Limbaugh Be Voice Of GOP Opposition

Who says radio is a dead medium? Radio host Rush Limbaugh appears to be the leader of the opposition -- just ask the Obama Administration: Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said the next day: "He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party, and he has been upfront about what he views, and hasn't stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said reporters should ask Republicans "whether they agree with what Rush Limbaugh said . . . in wishing and hoping for economic failure in this country." Limbaugh, a master at drawing media attention, has filled a vacuum for the GOP since the election, and Emanuel's comments served only to further boost his prominence. Limbaugh fired back on his show yesterday, saying the White House is trying to "malign me, take me out of context" and "attach it to the Republican Party in general, because President Obama wants no debate." He said that this is "a game of manipulation emanating from the Oval Office," and that he wants Obama's "socialist" policies to fail, but added that he does not want to see the economy and stock market tank. But White House officials contend that, with Limbaugh commanding more airtime than any other prominent Republican, they are obliged to respond to his call for the president's failure -- which they are more than happy to equate with financial ruin.