Obviously, an old-fashioned duel is out of the question, so Limbaugh has challenged the president to its modern-day political equivalent: a debate.
If these guys are so impressed with themselves, and if they are so sure of their correctness, why doesn’t President Obama come on my show? We will do a one-on-one debate of ideas and policies. Now, his people in this Politico story, it’s on the record. They’re claiming they wanted me all along. They wanted me to be the focus of attention. So let’s have the debate! I am offering President Obama to come on this program—without staffers, without a teleprompter, without note cards—to debate me on the issues. Let’s talk about free markets versus government control. Let’s talk about nationalizing health care and raising taxes on small business.Let’s talk about the New Deal versus Reaganomics. Let’s talk about closing Guantanamo Bay, and let’s talk about sending $900 million to Hamas. Let’s talk about illegal immigration and the lawlessness on the borders. Let’s talk about massive deficits and the destroying of opportunities of future generations. Let’s talk about ACORN, community agitators, and the unions that represent the government employees which pour millions of dollars into your campaign, President Obama. Let’s talk about your elimination of school choice for minority students in the District of Columbia. Let’s talk about your efforts to further reduce domestic drilling and refining of oil. Let’s talk about your stock market.
I’m quite sure Barack Obama is neither gutsy enough nor foolhardy enough to take that challenge, and in some ways, I wouldn’t be happy to see him reduce the dignity of the office enough to do so . . . but that would be a fun three hours.Update: Of course, if he doesn’t, Jeffrey Lord is right: his own team’s language is going to make him look pretty bad. After all, David Plouffe called the GOP “paralyzed with fear of crossing their leader” because they haven’t taken on Limbaugh; given Limbaugh’s challenge to the president,
the Obama crowd has now set up a breathtakingly stupid proposition: either Obama debates Rush one-on-one or he is, in the words of his own staff, paralyzed with fear.
Not good. None of Obama’s guys are chess players, I can tell—so far, there doesn’t seem to be one member of this administration who thinks beyond the next move.