Rush Limbaugh Endorses Hillary Clinton: "Brilliant Stroke" For Secretary Of State

NEW YORK — Rush Limbaugh has seldom been a fan of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. But the conservative radio pundit has given his blessing to her selection as the next secretary of state.

He calls it "a brilliant stroke" by President-elect Barack Obama, who opposed Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

Limbaugh weighs in on the new administration as one of Barbara Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People of 2008," which airs Thursday on ABC.

Says Limbaugh: "You know the old phrase, 'You keep your friends close and your enemies closer?' How can she run for president in 2012? She'd have to run against the incumbent and be critical of him _ the one who made her secretary of state."

On Monday, Obama announced Clinton as his nominee for secretary of state.

___

ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

___

On the Net:

http://abc.go.com/

Comments

[CheshireCat2]

I heard Hill was referred to on the right as the great "Right Hope."

I like it.

[CurrerBell]

What a dork. She wouldn't run against Obama the incumbent either way. Maybe 2016, but that wouldn't make a difference here.

[RODERICK098]

Not only stupid and dishonest but he and his buddies- Bush etc. have done to this country what Katrina did to New Orleans and he and his kind should be held accounable for what they have done

[Leota2]

Please . . . Why even clog the atmosphere with anything that the idiot Limbaugh utters?

[luvangelHussein330]

Like Rove the right and far right are endorsing HRC and any other pick Obama makes becuase they know anything they endorse or approve of will set the Lefties off and question Obama's commitment for change andit's working

[zanzig]

Old Jedi mind trick

[StillIRise]

That's because they're intellectually incapable of understanding what Obama is doing. They are a party that operates on a "surface mindset," and because they're unable to see beneath the surface, they assume that everyone else is just as dense as they and their loyal base are. And unfortunately, the "lefties" who buy into their rhetoric will merely affirm their assumption. Hopefully, they will be the exception!

[newdates]

Never trust this opportunist, he knew his audiences is getting smaller. He will say anything for his own benefits.

Just ignore him, he will fade way soon.

[DAdvocate123]

Yeah, except his audience is growing and continues to do so.

[cjgnew]

Let's not all get cynical. It's possible that Rush finally recognizes that "that one" who beat McCain was smarter indeed than the one he was rooting for during the presidential election. Now that the election is over, however, Rush figures that there's no harm done in acknowledging that the American people were not as dumb as he thought. I get it now, Rush: the guy who was making your direct deposit was also pulling your strings.

[cariintexas]

Just what the world has been waiting for, Limbaugh's approval. Noise does come at different decibels.

[rachel88]

"Limbaugh endorses Clinton"..­.
Here's a sentence I never though I would read.

[StillIRise]

He's not endorsing Hillary. The headline, as usual, is misleading.

[CheshireCat2]

I can tell you right now he feels as though she would have a stif-fer spine with foreign governments than would O.

[KeysDan]

You are right, the text of the article says nothing what-so-ever about an endorsement. He says it is a brilliant stroke, as he sees everything in terms of political cynicism. It would never occur to him that the President-elect needs a bright Democrat of international stature to right the wrongs of Republican nutjobs who have, for the past eight years, had their unfettered chance to try their treasured ideologies (let's bomb them into submission, preemptive war, go it alone, screw the French, the UN, etc.j) only for all to see them for what they are: gigantic failures.

[RODERICK098]

And deliberately so because many who work on this site hate her.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Limbaugh is as cynical as it gets so he can see what he wants to see. Obama did not make this choice for cynical reasons. Obama has shown he does not operate like that.

[StillIRise]

I support Obama unconditionally, and I have nothing but respect for the strength and integrity of his character. But I agree with Rush on this one! Obama knows better than most of us Hillary's assets and her liabilities. He knows that she is an intelligent, accomplished and respected figure on the world stage, and that she will make an exceptional Secretary of State. Yet he also knows, especially after the primary, that Hillary is very ambitious and has a tendency to put her ambitions before the better interests of the party, of his administration and of Barack himself. As Secretary of State, he has not only placed her in one of the most prominent and influential positions in his cabinet, one that she has rightly earned on her own merits, but it's also a position that is completely beholden to him, perhaps more than any other cabinet position. It further precludes the possibility of her running in 2012, which would create unprecedented division with the party. So it's a win-win appointment, one that she will benefit from, one that he will benefit from, one that the party will benefit from and one that the country will benefit from. I wouldn't call it a "cynical" motive that guided his decision. I think he did what was necessary, and from that perspective, his decision was brilliant.

[FaceYourFears]

Just the other day, Lou Dobbs, Pat Buklanan, Sean Hannity, Fred Barnes and all the gang at Fox were literally foaming at the mouth giving Barack praise for his cabinet picks and moonwalking on his promise to tax the wealthy. I guess that "team of rivals" is working out well for him.

[tavote08]

I can't wait till they start choking on that foam... They are all in for a rude awakening; it may take a minute or two but I have no doubt that President Obama is a man of his word (war, taxes, education, health care, constitution, green energy...) it's all coming to spite what they might think.

[StillIRise]

I guess you, Lou, Pat, Sean, Fred and all the gang at FOX still don't get it! What's that old saying, "You can't see the trees for the forest." Or, you see what you want to see! Maybe by the time you crawl out of your hole and brush the dust off, you'll finally have figured out who Barack Obama is and what his message of Change really means!

It takes a certain level of intellect and intellectual imagination, beyond the "politics as usual" mindset that we're so accustomed to, to understand what President-Elect Obama is doing. Even his most vocal critics, those who have the capacity to understand this, recognize that his cabinet appointments and the vision he's shaping into reality, is brilliant and deserves praise. But those who do not have the capacity to understand will likely reduce it to their own low level of understanding, as you apparently have, and will find a way to demean it. Which says a little more about you than it does about Obama and his "team of rivals."

[Knowitall]

I'm cynical. I think these blowhards are afraid they will be left out of the loop if Obama and company decides to give them the cold shoulder for the next 4 or 8 years. They are after all pretending to be a news network. The public is weary of the oppositional politics they've been playing for the last 25 years, and they have to shift if they want to be in the loop. Remember what happened to left leaning radio and TV during the right wing ascendancy.

They will oppose any and all taxes on the wealthy, but that isn't playing on mainstreet, so they're floundering for position. This will be interesting to watch. Look out for hypocrisy.

[GoodGuysandBadGuys]

he thinks it's brilliant of course because now he has reason to complain about her every day while she's in the job.

yep, just what america needs... more fuel for the right wing radio fire.

[StillIRise]

So, are you saying that Obama shouldn't have appointed Hillary because he should be more afraid of giving more fuel to the right-wing radio fire, than determined to build a credible administration?

What kind of person or President do you think Barack Obama is??

[Maskatron]

Limbaugh can't even keep his own opinions straight. This is what he said the day after the election:

"But I would like to congratulate President-Elect Barack Obama, ladies and gentlemen. Without Senator Obama, we would still be dealing with the specter of Hillary Clinton lurking around the Democrat Party seeking the White House. So I want to congratulate and thank Senator Obama for dispatching the Clintons, at least until he screws up enough to give them an opening to get back in. "

[tavote08]

What opinion would that be??? and does anyone really give a --- what he thinks. Don't forget PE Obama has also put a muzzle and a leash on Bubba. I was angry at first but I get it now....

[FatherKindly]

This works only if Bubba doesn't throw off the muzzle and break the leash. If he does, what is the President to do? Fire Hillary because she couldn't keep her husband in line? When has she ever been able to do that?

[Yman]

You think 0bama chose her for political reasons? So he was lying when he said he would choose the most qualified people for his cabinet?

BTW - "Muzzle and a leash on 'Bubba'" ..........­....... good one.

Unless you were ..........­..........­. serious.

[lissak]

Trust the O.

[roshni]

Hillary is one of ours in spite of her flaws. She does not need the approval of a ringwing racist. Let's make Rush irrelevant.

[dejayel]

How do "we" make Rush irrelevent? He is already irrelevent, the only folks who listen to him are very anti-Clinton or Obama. Where I live, his radio programs have already been dropped.

[conservativeoriginalist]

Anybody read their Constitution as of late? In particular, Article I Section 6 in regards to Hillary's appointment. Or, does the Constitution not matter anymore?

[alieninvader]

Was she in the Senate when the pay raise was voted on?

[StillIRise]

Yes. But this will not necessarily stop her confirmation. Obama is a constitutional lawyer, and I'm sure that both he and Biden, as well as their advisers and transition team are fully aware of this dilemma. However, it was raised once before in George H.W. Bush's administration with his Secretary of State appointee, and it was resolved within the constraints of the constitution, as I'm sure it will be this time as well.

[edwarvir]

Yes she was/

[Zofomofo]

What is your point?
Besides, where where you when Bush was pissing on the Constitution?

[Roy49]

LOL! Pissing on the Constitution! Yeah, that's what he did! He made a mockery of America and it's principles. He also crapped all over the Geneva Convention and condoned torture of prisoners and interogation without legal representation. That is not being an American, that's runniing a "Shadow Government" for the last 8 years. His presidency (if you can call it that) has set America back 100 years! Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld should be tried for treason and shot by a firing squad for their blatant disregard and violation of constitutional law. George Bush's parents should be ashamed of him, ashamed that he made a mockery of the office of the President of the United States! He is a sad disgrace. I wonder what his daughters and his wife will think of him and his legacy everytime they look at TV or the newspaper or a magazine and hear how crap a job he did?

[proudcalib]

This is a right wing canard. Article 1 Section 6 merely states that a member of congress cannot simulataneously hold another civil post in the government. Give it up.

[Knowitall]

She resigned today.

[FaceYourFears]

Pretty soon the Constitution will be a thing of the past.

[dejayel]

Guess my reading of the Constitution needs up-dating.­....what Constitutional reasons are you referring to?