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Jan. 20, 2009 - Rush Limbaugh Program
36:35
January 20, 2009, Tuesday, Hour #2
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And greetings to you, music lovers, thrill seekers, conversationalists all across the fruited plane, Rush Limbaugh, the Excellence in Broadcasting Network.
Great to have you with us, my friends, on an historic day in the United States of America.
Rush Limbaugh at 800-282-2882.
The email address is lrushbow at EIBnet.com.
We're going to be taking your phone calls on your thoughts and reaction to the entire day, particularly the inaugural address by now President Obama, who just concluded the signing ceremony inside the U.S. Capitol to make it official.
President Bush on the way via the helicopter to Andrews Air Force Base for a brief goodbye with his staff, and he'll fly then to Midland, Texas with his family, where he will eventually see the house that he bought that he's never seen.
His wife bought the house in Dallas.
They've got the stuff moved in.
They got moved out of the White House fairly early.
And during the inaugural ceremonies today, the Obama family had their stuff moved in to the residents' quarters at the White House.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, I must admit to you here that I'm a bit conflicted about what happened here today and what to say about it, being totally candid and upfront and honest with you.
There's no question it's an historic day in the United States of America.
There's no question that this is a day that has been built up and hyped.
The inaugural address, we were told, would be soaring, that the words would be chiseled into stone.
CNN reported this yesterday.
And this is what happens when you build up expectations to the point they can't be met.
I mean, my conflict is, you know, should I rein it in for a day and then, you know, celebrate what's just happened here and get in the spirit of things or tell you what I really thought about the speech.
And of course, I always come down on the ladder, and that's telling you what I really thought, but it's the equivalent of me getting in a big mess again.
I have to tell you something.
I saw more energy at a McCain rally than I saw during the McCain, the Obama speech today.
I saw 10 times the energy and excitement during a Sarah Palin rally than I saw during, and 2 million or so people, they say, were there, and the audience, obviously confused when they should applaud, when they shouldn't.
The biggest applause lines that I noticed during the speech had to do with moments where the president mentioned race, both past, present, and future.
That seemed to be those periods in the speech that got the most reaction.
There were several conflicts in this speech.
At one point, it was Reagan-esque, telling people that it was up to them, using their industriousness and hard work to bring the country around.
And then shortly after that, it descended to elements of socialism.
Listen to this review by Cliff May at National Review Online.
Cliff May runs a think tank called the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
He said, give credit where credit is due.
Obama's not spending a moment dancing in the end zone.
He's focusing on problems and the need for renewed energy and determination in solving them.
Most of what he's saying could just as easily have been said by McCain or Mitt Romney or Ronald Reagan.
Well, to a certain extent, that's true.
I mean, any person as president during an inaugural address could have made historical references in this country.
But Reagan could not have made this speech.
There were too many elements of socialism in this speech.
Too many elements of the government's going to do what is necessary to get people to work.
In this speech, Barack Obama actually said that government is where people are going to turn when they need work.
And, of course, we're going to fix bridges that aren't broken and all of this.
I think he tried to tackle too much.
It was a campaign speech.
And I think that he tried to just touch on too many things and strive for memorable line after memorable line.
And as such, it was a clunker.
There wasn't anything memorable.
The most memorable moments of the day so far have been portions of the prayer at the end of the ceremonies by the Reverend Joseph Lowry.
Now, ladies and gentlemen, I also, this poet that was up there today, let me get her name here for you.
It doesn't roll off of my tongue.
Elizabeth Alexander was the poet today.
Now, I've admitted to you on several occasions in the past that poetry is something that never gelled with poetry.
You know, I'm a literalist.
I don't like symbolism.
If you want to tell me the water is clear and blue, don't take 15 pages to do so.
They said the water is clear and blue.
Jump on in.
I know poetry can be beautiful and maybe just means I'm not cultured, but I have no idea what that poem said.
I don't know what that woman was talking about.
I don't know much more about what Obama said after his speech.
It was full of the lofty platitudes that his campaign speeches were filled with, but the soaring rhetoric that we were led to believe would be there wasn't as well.
So I'm it just did not meet everybody's, well, it did not meet my expectations.
So we all admit that Obama's a great speechmaker, that he is a great orator.
But this crowd that was there today did not give any indication that the atmosphere was electric.
It was more somber.
I mean, just listening to it and looking at the occasional crowd shots, the occasion today seemed to be more somber than anybody was led to believe.
And all this is surprising to me that there was very little inspiration, that there was soaring phrases that just weren't there.
Now, it was said that Obama was writing this himself.
And that was the news that we got.
Obama was going to write this speech himself, but he sequestered himself for two days and didn't want to be interrupted with anything while he worked on this.
If that's true, it was said that he was writing it himself.
The results show that he probably did because most of his speeches are written by David Axelrod.
But this was buzzkill for the assembled billions out there.
This was buzzkill.
There was no buzz.
You have to forgive me if this offends you, folks.
I'm just sharing with you my honest reaction to elements of the speech.
It was a generic speech.
And if Cliff May thinks that's what it was and that every president could have given it, then, okay, I would have to agree.
But I mean, we were led to believe there'd be something comparable to all we have to fear is fear itself, or ask not what your country can do for you, demand what it can do for you.
Something like that.
Well, that was the theme of the campaign.
But there was no hook, you know, in music.
There was no hook to the song here.
There was no chorus that kept him wanting to hear more and more and more of the song.
Just, I mean, I'm still thinking of the poet.
She talked about boombux.
She talked about pencils.
And, of course, Joseph Lowry was talking about when white would embrace what's right.
I will admit, I don't often get offended.
But in this circumstance, in this ceremony, that was somewhat offensive.
When white will...
We just elected the first black president in the history of the country, and Joseph Lowry still wants to act like there's a grievance out there.
At any rate, we have our audio sound bites of the speech in case you missed it.
We also have the oath of office.
In fact, speaking, I want you to listen to Diane Feinstein, who introduced the oath of office ceremony with Chief Justice John Roberts.
Here, it's just 14 seconds.
It's cut 22, Mike.
Listen carefully as we replay Diane Feinstein here.
It is my distinct honor to present the Chief Justice of the United States, the Honorable John G. Roberts Jr., who will administer the presidential oath of office.
Everyone, please stand.
Now, I'm not trying to stir things up here, but did she say oath?
It sounded like she said oath of office with an F.
Well, let's look at, I'm not, I'm really not trying to, I just, you know, I know people are going to get mad as they can be at me out there.
I'm sure many affiliates are boiling mad out there.
I'm sure she said oath.
I'm sure she did.
Dianne Feinstein, but it oath, oath.
You said, yeah, I'm singing with a TH.
I'm sure she said it.
But here, listen again, it sounds like she says oath with the F.
It is my distinct honor to present the Chief Justice of the United States, the Honorable John G. Roberts Jr., who will administer the presidential oath of office.
Everyone, please stand.
I think the jury's still out.
I think the jury's still out.
We'll give her the benefit of the doubt, even though the jury's still out, but it sure sounds like oath to me.
Welcome back.
It's Rush Limbaugh, your guiding light, America's real anchor man, America's truth detector, and the doctor of democracy.
Remember the campaign, folks, when Obama's speeches would leave people spent, would leave them sweaty, would leave them orgasmic?
I mean, that's what we saw on the campaign in Denver.
We saw it in Grant Park in Chicago on the night of the election.
Spent, sweaty, orgasmic people after Obama's speeches.
None of that happened today.
It's one thing to talk about the challenges facing the country.
Once you get people down, you have to lift them up on their way out of the event, and it didn't happen.
He took them down.
He told them how bad it is.
But there was no uplift.
There was no inspiration here.
He told us how bad it is.
He told us how challenging it's going to be.
And he did in the middle of the speech.
He said, we can do anything we want.
But, you know, there's a formula.
There's a rhythm to speeches.
And the rhythm that has been part of his speeches throughout the campaign just wasn't here today.
One of the things that, you know, you might call it a straddling speech.
Some might say a clunky speech.
Others might say straddling, trying to be all things to all sides.
But there was a tidbit in there where he got specific.
And it's going to be something that we're going to revert to or refer to quite often whenever unions want greater power or somebody wants to raise the minimum wage.
Here's a little passage that he said: for as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.
That's what brought me up short.
I was not expecting that.
That's something I would say.
That is something that Ronaldus Magnus would say.
He's basically saying, you are the people to make this country work and you're the ones who've made it great.
But it didn't last long.
It was back to government being the sole provider and the sole solver of problems.
Shortly after this passage is made, he said, it is the selfishness of workers who would rather cut their hours, or selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job.
Okay?
He said that today.
Faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.
It is the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job.
That's one of his definitions of what's made America great.
We will see when the next time is a union worker cuts his hours and reduces his pay in order to see somebody else not get canned.
We'll just keep a sharp eye on this.
Here's Joseph Lowry, ladies and gentlemen, one of the two people that were the most memorable today, Joseph Lowry and the poet, Elizabeth Alexander.
We all know the litany he went through about who's responsible for all the problems of the country, but he led off bashing the rich.
We know that, Lord, you're able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds, and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor or the least of these and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.
So the liberal theme was wide, it was blaring.
It was there from the Reverend Lowry.
We got to go attack the rich.
The rich are stealing from the poor.
We got to make sure the elite rich, which are largely Democrats these days, by the way, are made to give up some of their spoils.
I mean, it was traditional Democrat Party playbook 101 from the Reverend Lowry.
And then he said this: Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their neighbors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black would not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right.
Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.
Say amen and amen.
That's one of the most electric moments of the entire speech.
But is it necessary to go through this line by line?
He says, when black will not be asked to get in back, when does that happen today?
Did not we just inaugurate a black man as president of the United States?
When brown can stick around, I assume that's Native Americans.
Brown can stick around.
Do they sell cigarettes with no taxes and they run casinos?
When yellow will be mellow.
Who's yeah, but I know it's Asians, Mr. Snurdley.
I know it's Asians here, but they're some of the most mellow people I know.
What does he mean?
What are the Asians doing that I haven't heard about?
I know it's a leftover 60s thing.
It could be a Led Zeppelin lyric for all I know, but I mean, the point is, it's not relevant.
It's not relevant to today.
Everybody here is living in the past, and they don't want anybody to think we made any progress at all, despite inaugurating Barack Obama as president today.
And then the ultimate, when the red or wait, Brown, what's the difference in black and brown here?
When he says black, brown, who's brown?
I assume, oh, the Hispanics.
Oh, okay.
See, that's how that's the example of my lack of orientation toward all these groups based on color.
All right.
Then we have when white will embrace what is right.
He's just insulted this country, large numbers of which elected Barack Obama President of the United States.
All right, to the phones quickly, here is Patty, Southampton, Pennsylvania.
Great to have you on the Russian Limbaugh program.
Hello.
Hello.
Yes, hi.
Hi.
Hi.
I have to say that I love your show, and I just started listening about a year ago, and I wish I had started a long time ago.
Well, you can make up for lost time rather quickly on this program.
I was calling to voice my disappointment in the inauguration speech.
I was waiting for that tingle up my leg.
Now, were you really?
Did you?
Now, wait a minute.
Now, this is the honest question.
Did you want to be dazzled or were you hoping for a fizzling sparkler?
I was kind of hoping for it.
Hoping for what?
The fizzling sparkler.
Yeah, it's sort of like the question: all these people running around saying, We really want Barack to succeed.
I did an interview with Sean Hannity today.
He was down here to do a two-part TV show interview.
It'll air on Wednesday and Thursday nights on his new show, Hannity, 9 o'clock on the Fox News channel.
And he asked me about this.
I hear you're saying that you want Barack to not succeed.
I said, No, no, that's not exactly what I'm saying.
What I've said is that I'm alarmed here at all of these Republicans who are just falling in line.
Oh, yes, we really want him to give him a chance to succeed.
What is success here?
Obama, going to the campaign and listening to his rhetoric, all this spending, this is collectivism, socialism, whatever you want to call it.
I don't, none of what we're planning for the future in this country has any relationship to what made this country great.
I don't want this to succeed.
Now, if he says that he's going to cut taxes, extend the Bush tax cuts, be a little supply-side on the economy, I hope that succeeds.
So it depends on what he does.
We'll be back in a sec.
Don Jones Industrial Average, what is it?
The latest I've got is down 155 as the banks are in trouble and there's huge banking problems.
There are huge banking problems in Ireland today.
It's really a global economic crisis that is happening out there.
But I'm surprised because all this is supposed to end today.
There shouldn't have been any problems, shouldn't have been any upset people.
We should be filled with hope and change.
And that speech just didn't deliver any hope.
And certainly, you want to talk about change here.
Listen to the Reverend Lowry again.
This is change.
In the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest.
And in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around, when yellow will be mellow, when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right.
Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.
Amen.
Say amen.
Amen.
And amen.
Amen.
Amen.
You see, ladies and gentlemen, I just don't get it.
I have hope.
I have hope for change.
I have longed for the day when we see human beings rather than skin color and gender and sexual orientation.
But Reverend Lowry's comments indicate to me that I don't get it.
Racism is inevitable and perpetual.
And they intend to keep.
No, sturdily, telling you, this guy is still living in the 60s.
He was part of the inaugural address today.
He did not acknowledge at all the significant, the overwhelming change represented by Obama's inauguration today.
And so, as far as the grievance community is concerned, there's no solution.
There's no change.
There hasn't been any major achievement or accomplishment.
Right?
I know.
Hey, said an old guy that they put up the don't look.
Look at, I paid more attention to what he said than what Obama said.
I paid more attention to what the poet said than what Obama said because I have no clue what the poet said.
I really don't know much about what Obama said either, but I know damn well what Lowry just said.
He was the most clear-spoken guy up there on the dais.
I mean, even the Chief Justice blew the oath of office.
Somebody blew that.
Somebody got the words out of order in that.
I'm not sure that it was Obama who blew that, but it was still they needed a prompter up there for that.
They didn't put it on the prompter, and you can tell that was the case.
But no, we just had the guy yesterday from down in Atlanta, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the guy who originally said that Obama doesn't mean to change at all because he didn't have any slave blood.
The race industry is still around.
And this, you know, I just, I'm one of my most fervent desires and wishes, I'm serious as a human being, is that all of this racism just be over with, all this group victimization be over with, and I just, I don't get it because it's never going to end.
These are tactics, these are political tactics employed by the left to secure power, and they'll never give it up.
And while they're the ones out there practicing all this racism and groupthink and victimization, they're blaming people like me for it.
And it's just a shame.
It's just a shame.
Here we have a couple sound bites from the poet, once again, Elizabeth Alexander.
Now, I might pay something here if somebody could translate this stuff for me.
Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each other's eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.
All about us is noise.
All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din.
Each one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boombox, harmonica, voice.
Boombox?
Boombox?
At a presidential inauguration?
Snirdly, this is not torture.
This is not torture.
This is hilarious.
Somebody somewhere thought this was exceptional.
Somebody somewhere thought this added.
Somebody, you have to understand, somebody thought that this was brilliant.
It's a code.
I don't understand it.
Okay, I know.
Today there's a street outside.
On that street are cars.
And in those cars are people with ancestors on their tongues and music on their iPods.
And they listen.
And the children in the back of the car, who are also on the road, may or may not be in their child safety seats, in which case the driver will be arrested and the child taken away.
When the car gets to its destination, it may run out of gas.
If it runs out of gas, it's obviously a gas guzzler.
And if it's a gas guzzler, then we need to harness the energy of the sun and punish the SOB driving the gas guzzler.
If the car gets to its destination with plenty of gas left in the tank, we give it a bonus of additional markers at Walmart for the day after Christmas, which is how today was planned.
And after we go to Walmart and pick up some of the lead paint that is made with our children in mind, imported from China, we will then have a meeting with the Iranians who will love us.
And they will get in their car.
We'll also be on their road.
And their road shall never end until they have nuclear weapons.
I'm sorry, if I can do it, it isn't art.
Here, you got another bite.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, take out your pencils.
Begin.
We encounter each other in words.
Words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed.
Words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, I need to see what's on the other side.
I know there's something better down the road.
And when we get to the end of the road, with the person driving the guzzler, with the perhaps or not perhaps, child safety seats in the back, we will then know the answer to the question, which came first, the chicken or the egg?
And why did the egg cross the road?
To see something better down the road.
But could the egg have crossed the road without the chicken?
These are depth questions, and only President Obama has the answers.
Cookie, get me more of this.
Two sound bites from Elizabeth Alexander are simply not enough.
Get me more.
Quickly, Renee in Vainesville, Ohio.
Great to have you on.
Is it Zainesville or Vainesville?
It's Vainesville.
Wherever.
Great to have you here.
Hey, I just have one word.
Dumbfounded.
I just wanted to scream that, is this the best that we can do?
This is America.
I was sitting there watching the speech with my kids, and I kept having this kaleidoscope of feelings that just ran this whole range.
First, I, you know, I heard things, you know, it's not a matter of how big our government is or how small it is.
Yes, it is.
And then I felt like there was just no substance.
And I kept telling myself, okay, you need to be open-minded.
Now, wait a second now.
Excuse me.
Sure.
When has there ever been substance or much substance versus lofty rhetoric and symbolism throughout the Obama campaign and speeches?
There hasn't.
That's what I'm saying.
See, why were you, this is interesting.
Why were your expectations so high?
Well, I was just hoping.
My kids are sitting there.
Why?
Why?
Why were you hoping?
There's no wrong answer.
There's not a trick here.
I'm just curious.
Why were you hoping?
I wanted to show my kids a better example.
Inside, I'm feeling like I feel like we're in trouble with a capital T, but I wanted to, in front of my children, and that as we watched the inauguration, I wanted to show them that what America does, that we support the person that's in office.
We support the process.
And I wanted to make sure that my face wasn't, you know, showing some of the things that I was feeling.
But my goodness, they make it hard.
You know, I felt the poem, you're exactly right.
I was just like, you know, what was that about?
And how do I, you know, my children are sitting there watching and I'm thinking, and then the prayer, I'm, you know, we're hardworking white Americans and we're striving to teach our kids to love God and their country.
And, you know, it feels an awful like, a lot like just a slap in the face.
Slap in the face?
Yes.
Because it was what?
Wait a minute.
Slap in the face because it disappointed you?
Well, I'm struggling not to feel extremely offended.
And I know that being offended is a choice, but man.
Oh, the Lowry thing.
The Lowry thing offended.
Oh, yeah.
100%.
100% I agree with you.
I just thought this, and then I thought, okay.
And as the, you know, the speech, start out with the speech, and then we go to the poem, and then we go to the prayer.
I just could not believe.
I thought, can it get any worse?
And yes, it did.
ending with that benediction i'm like what was well see that's a matter now wait a minute see no that's a matter of perspective You gave us this order, chronologically the speech.
Then you gave the poem and then the prayer.
And you were hoping it would get better.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Well, it did.
The speech, to me, was the downer.
The poem was, that was, to me, the poem was just fabulous.
The poem was emblematic of the whole ceremony.
I get that.
There was nothing there.
It was indecipherable.
It was mumbo jumbo.
It was gobbledygook.
Well, I loved what you said about the empty barrel making the most noise.
I mean, that was just nothing but filler.
Let me tell you something.
That's important to remember.
An empty barrel makes the most noise.
And what was rattling around the barrel today was the poet.
Yes.
And then the preacher, Joseph Lowry.
It did get better.
It did get better because what we got, we got the platitudes from Obama, which fell flat.
Everybody, I mean, that crowd was not buzzed.
Then the poet comes along and symbolizes the whole ceremony.
What did she just say?
What did we just see?
And then Lowry comes on and tells us what we just saw.
You white people are still racists, and you're holding everybody down, and the black people are still on the back of the bus, and the brown people are still being kicked out of the country.
If you look at this chronologically, there was indeed a message.
I don't think it was intended, but it happened.
Brief time out.
We'll be back after this.
Yes, here we are.
We're back.
Okay, folks, it finally hit me.
Finally hit me.
We're going to listen to Elizabeth Alexander again here.
It finally hit me what I thought I was listening to when I was listening to the poem.
Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each other's eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.
Stop the tape.
This sounds just like the voice in my GPS system in my car.
Prepare to turn left in 700 feet onto State Road 704.
Now turn left.
You didn't turn left.
Now make a U-turn in 400 feet.
It sounds like a GPS voice.
All about us is noise.
All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din.
Each one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire.
Wait a minute.
Hold it a second.
Americans don't repair things anymore, do we?
Maybe a small percentage of the population, the Amish, and so most people just go out and buy a new one.
Dorn?
How many people in this country do you think know how to dorn, Don?
Someone is darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire to get a new tire.
Repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum.
Stop tape.
Remember what I said earlier?
An empty barrel makes the most noise.
Now, I don't, who, who, the spoons on an oil bear, oil drum.
That's Jamaican, right?
I mean, this is, I guarantee those drums are empty.
I mean, they're not using real live oil inside those drums and are banging the spoons up against them.
Cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
Okay, that's Elizabeth Alexander the poet, who sounds like the GPS system voice in my car.
Now, we haven't played any sound bites of the Obama speech, ladies and gentlemen, because frankly, it's hard to comment on.
It really is hard to comment on.
It was disjointed.
It was contradictory.
How do you analyze that?
How do you analyze a disjointed, contradictory, and unmemorable speech?
There was no flow.
There was no theme.
There was some wishful thinking and some platitudes in there, but nothing new.
And we were supposed to hear about hope and change.
There was nothing new.
There wasn't any original thinking, just reworked phrases, thoughts from prior speeches and sermons.
The best thing about it was that it wasn't long.
That was a fitting end to the Obama campaign.
I mean, the rhetoric has gotten old.
The rhetoric falls flat.
It's time to deal with reality.
The country's ready for results now, not platitudes.
And that's the audience was, I guarantee you, their expectations were far higher than what they got.
Grab, let's see, grab, grab, let's audio soundbite.
Well, no, we don't have time to squeeze one up.
You got more poet?
Yeah, how long is the segment?
How long is the sound bite?
Let's do the 35.
We got new Elizabeth Alexander before we have to go to a break.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain, that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Well, I know what that's about, but starting about picking lettuce.
Yeah, in the same bunch.
Your crowd, Ms. Alexander, told us to take the pesticides out of it so that people now get sick.
We'll be back after this.
There's a big congressional lunch going on now in the rotunda of the Capitol.
And there was a huge contretant between Hillary Clinton and John Cornyn that went on in there.
You know, Cornyn is delaying her floor confirmation vote because of his concerns over her conflicts of interest.
And they had a heated discussion just out of earshot under the statue of George Washington in the rotunda.
There was lots of hand gestures back and forth, and she was squeezing his forearm.
She's really upset about what he's doing.
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