The White House “Rush” to the Fairness Doctrine
Rory Cooper /
Over the past few weeks, America has seen President Obama, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel and former Campaign Manager David Plouffe channel much of their focus on what they see as a major problem facing America. You might think the object of this affection is the spiraling economy, which has led them to declare war on moderately successful investors and small business owners while they refuse to acknowledge a war on terror. That is certainly a focus. Secondarily, you might think it is the housing crisis, where they are attempting to cram down irresponsible mortgages so that responsible homeowners pay for the irresponsible mistakes of their neighbors. Definitely a focus. You may also think their focus is on creating a national health care plan, complete with community servicing centers and government run treatment plans paid for by a select few and at the expense of charitable contributions. Nobody argues that is a focus.
No, with these important issues being debated on Capitol Hill, President Obama, Rahm Emmanuel and David Plouffe have channeled their focus towards Rush Limbaugh. Arguably the most successful radio host in American history, Rush has historically drawn the ire of the left, for building an army of conservatives poised to battle bad ideas, and offer better solutions to the nation’s challenges. But this time, it is a bit more calculated, a bit more centralized and a bit more vitriolic. So the question has to be asked, why? Why would the President risk taking his eye off the ball to clash with one radio host?
Why would Congressman Grayson (D-FL) call Limbaugh a “sorry excuse for a human being,” in these times when President Obama is calling for bipartisan solutions and a change in Washington tone? And most importantly, why would David Plouffe, one of the President’s closest confidents over the past year, devote a full editorial only to the subject of Rush Limbaugh? He chose to use the platform afforded to him by the Washington Post, not to sell America on Obama’s economic, housing or banking solutions, nor to sell America on the largest spending increases ever seen in a budget in Washington. He chose this platform to attack a syndicated radio host who disagrees with the President’s ideas.