Obama V. Rush: Obama Better "Bring His A-Game"

by C. Edmund Wright (author is frequent contributor to American Thinker and other political websites)

Obama V. Limbaugh.

Wow, could this be the fight that the Bush Administration was accused of fighting but never did?  Could this be the big time battle of ideas so desperately wanted by conservatives?

Perhaps so, and if it is -- to paraphrase Tiger Woods -- Barack Obama had damned well better "bring his A game."  After all, we are not talking about debating a John McCain worried what handlers like Steve Schmidt might think. This is not the same as criticizing a "compassionate conservative" President represented by the likes of Scott McClellan.

No, not at all.  Those were people scared of the ideas they were elected to represent. Obama has now picked a fight with some powerful beliefs fronted by a  "passionate conservative" commentator with an informal army of some 25 million of the most intelligent, learned and concerned citizens in the country behind him.

And the battlefield will be evident for all to see - and hear - and read.

This fight may seem to be mano a mano with Rush on the surface, but in reality this is a battle of ideas and Obama has just stepped into center court of conservative thought worldwide.  And make no mistake, this court jester is very skilled in the verbal and debate arts. Oh, and unlike Obama, he does not require a teleprompter to appear this way.

Moreover, this is a fight that Rush and his listeners relish. We elected Bush 43 to fight this fight but he deferred to his new tone, which meant he would not even fight the idea that he was fighting.  This is a battle that we knew we would not get with McCain on the ticket, which is the main reason we did not want him there to begin with.  This is the conversation we had hoped Sarah Palin would bring to the ticket before realizing we had to fight the McCainiacs instead. In other words, this is the battle of ideas we've been itching for since the Contract with America Congress let us down after taking office in 1995.  (OK, Newt and that congress fought it in the 94 election - but no one in Republican leadership has since).

Now, to our delight, it has been started by a man who thinks "God damn America" is mainstream thought and who has admitted that his mind can be read accurately by his 27 year old latte sipping neophyte speech writer.  This is an Obama team that thinks Rush will be alone and afraid of this fight and not very good at it.

Instincts told me nothing could be futher from the truth. My sources confirm that "southern command is jazzed" by the whole thing.  I am predicting an enormous team effort here.

Allow me to point out that this is the team of Operation Chaos, an effort that clearly kept Hillary Clinton in the race longer than she would have been otherwise. This is the team that is keeping Rush's advertisers out of participation in the recession by understanding the unspoken role they have in keeping conservative thought alive by their choice of steaks, water heaters and cold remedies.

This is not just a group of pro-life moms (though many are part of the team). This is a massive team of significant cutural, philosophical and economic influence. I don't think Fox News is a factor except for Rush listeners badering their local cable companies to carry it in the 1999-2000 time frame.

This is a team that is not understood at all by the Obama Administration.  Hell, it wasn't even fully appreciated by the Bush administration. Either of them, come to think about it. 

Consider why this is much more than just a fight with a talk show host: Rush's appeal is an appeal to folks who believe in, understand and cherish American exceptionalism. These are people who appreciate the demonstration of aburdity by being humorously absurd. It is an appeal to the part of the human spirit that believes great things are achieved and unleashed when government gets out of the way and simply fosters an environment of freedom and therefore dynamic achievement.

It is an appeal to Reaganism and to Reagan's vision of America. It is consistent with Reagan's faith in God and love of country and belief in the individual's ability to do great things.  Rush is popular due to his ability to comment on politics and culture daily with peerless humor and perspective - not to mention he created the modern talk radio industry -- but the crucial underpinnings are the ideals represented.

And as much as Rush loves Reagan and Rush's listeners love both Rush and Reagan, this is more about ideas than personalities. And that is Rush's big advantage in this fight. He instinctively understands this. He is representing eternal ideals that are well understood by his supporters and have been for over two decades. Besides, these ideas are superior and he can articulate them with no prompting.

Obama, meanwhile, is representing a vapor trail of ideas that can be blown about by the winds and which are almost universally misunderstood by his supporters of a few months.  And to the point that some of his ideas are long standing, they are the ideas of every failed socialist state in world history and of the failed first seven years of FDR's administration.  (Ah...er...um...uh...ah...uh.....where is that damned prompter?)

Conservative voters have known this, of course, and have been frustrated to no end by the McCain nomination and his feckless directionless campaign. They have been frustrated by the pusillanimous jumping of ship by the likes of David Brooks and Peggy Noonan and Kathleen Parker. But they are rarely frustrated by how the battle is waged from noon to three each day (eastern time) on over 600 radio stations.

Now Obama has come to play in that arena.  This is not "Planet Noonan," where it is ok to sound like Reagan while paraphrasing Marx.  This is an arena of intellect over emotion. An arena of ideas and ideals.  An arena where even Richard Nixon trounced John F. Kennedy.  Rest assured, Rush and his listeners and conservatives everywhere are anxious for this battle to take place - for their faith not only in their representative - but their faith in their ideals as well.