After a caller criticized Limbaugh for this, he responded:
You have just purposely misstated something that you know to be untrue. I want the country not to be harmed. That's why I wanted Obama to fail. And you know what I meant by it. You're a smart guy. I can tell. Plus you're a union guy. So you know. When I said, "I hope he fails," I meant: I don't want the country damaged by the kind of things he believes and wants to do.
In reality, Limbaugh was explicit in declaring that he not only wanted Obama’s agenda defeated, he also wanted the country to suffer after Obama’s proposals were enacted. On February 13, 2009, Limbaugh told his listeners about the stimulus plan: "I hope it prolongs the failure. I hope it prolongs the recession. Because people are going to have to figure out here that this is not how economies recover. Government is not the central planner." Limbaugh made it clear that he meant much more than wishing for Obama's policies not to pass. Limbaugh said: "Of course I want Obama to fail. And after this stimulus bill package passes, I want it to fail."
Hoping for failure and praying that the Bush Recession would continue to devastate the American economy has been the primary economic policy advocated by Limbaugh and the Republicans for the past 40 months. Limbaugh's so ashamed of his beliefs, though, that accuses everyone of intentionally lying for merely stating what Limbaugh quite clearly said in hoping for economic disaster.
Crossposted at DailyKos.
