Yesterday on the air, Rush Limbaugh stated the following:
Obama's patriotism is not being attacked in an ad. McCain's just out there saying he's putting his own personal political ambition ahead of the country's. It's -- you know, it's just -- it's just we can't hit the girl. I don't care how far feminism's saying, you can't hit the girl, and you can't -- you can't criticize the little black man-child. You just can't do it, 'cause it's just not right. It's not fair. He's such a victim.
There is so much that is foul about those paragraphs, but the reference I bolded is one more example of the racist Rush Limbaugh we've all come to know recently.
Rush was calling Obama "Little Black Sambo."
The bullying nature of right-wing radio is never without examples, but this is the most powerfully stated one I've seen in a while. While attacking Obama for being too sensitive to attack, Rush throws out a clear reference to a scandalous racial epithet. This isn't even the code words masking the idea of "uppity" from the McCain campaign. This is an open racist statement from one of the biggest names in talk radio today.
What in blue blazes was he thinking? When will it be too much for Rush Limbaugh? What is he allowed to get away with? Does using two words out of three excuse him here? I don't think so. The import of his message is clear.
This is how Rush decides to support McCain's latest claim that he isn't attacking Obama's patriotism, which is, of course, a patent lie. Saying that Obama wants to lose a war to win a political campaign? That's an attack on his patriotism. McCain's entire convention theme is "Country First," as if Obama was doing something different.
And when Rush states this, even he must have been blinkered by doing so. "He's not attacking Obama's patriotism! He's just saying that Obama puts his personal political ambition in front of the country." Even Limbaugh's brain, used to lying so easily, must have had a division by zero error for a moment, because he reached into his bag of over-the-top distractions and pulled out Little Black Sambo.
And don't be fooled. Distraction is exactly what this was about. McCain's unbelievable lie has to be called out, and Rush is taking a bullet here by popping out a racist diversion. If Rush can make this all about him, then McCain's statement is allowed to slip past.
Lucky for us we can deal with both. It is a testament to just how open McCain is in his assertion that Rush had to do this. Rush should be punished, rightfully so. But the issue should always be McCain's lie.
Rush isn't going to be nominating Supreme Court Justices, after all. Rush isn't going to be materially covering up the misdeeds of the Bush Adminstration. Rush isn't going to be bullying the world into war after war after war.
McCain is. McCain is the target. Hit McCain with this.
"Senator McCain, Rush Limbaugh defended your attacks on Obama's patriotism by calling him a little black man-child. Do you think references to Little Black Sambo are appropriate in this campaign?"
"Senator McCain, you say you're attacking Obama's judgment and not his patriotism when you claim that his political ambitions are above his concern for the country. Isn't that just saying that his judgment is making him unpatriotic?"
"Senator McCain, it's your judgment that your political ambitions are best served by the deaths of more American men and women in Iraq. Would it be fair to question your patriotism because of this?"
Oh, and Rush gotta go. It's clear he's ready to sacrifice for the team. Let's send the racist packing.