Last Sunday, the pastor in the church I attend prayed for Barack Obama. That pastor prayed that Obama would have the strength and wisdom to guide America. I'm certain that the majority of that congregation agreed that we should all pray for Obama's success. It made me proud to be a member of that church during that prayer.
I wish Rush Limbaugh had been there. Because the week before Limbaugh made the statement on his radio show that he hoped that Obama's efforts to pull America through these dark days would fail. His words were: "I hope Obama fails. Somebody's got to say it." He went as far as telling his lockstep listeners that he was angry at Republicans who are pulling for Obama to succeed.
I'm pretty sure there are preachers all over this country leading congregations in prayers that make the same plea my pastor made last Sunday. And I'm comfortable knowing that the power of those prayers are much stronger than the repugnant hate talk of an aging radio host in search of a bigger audience.
It's important to consider the specifics of what Limbaugh is hoping for in Obama's failure. Eight million Americans lost their homes to foreclosure during the Bush years. Perhaps if Limbaugh could step out of his 25,000 square foot home and see the pain of a mother and father telling their children that they just lost their home, maybe then he would want Obama to succeed.
Or maybe Mr. Limbaugh could step away from his $400 million dollar job long enough to be on sight the day a factory or a bank or a restaurant closes. And maybe he could follow one of those fathers home to tell his family that he just lost his job. Maybe then he would want to pray for Obama, rather than hope Obama fails. Or what if he heard one of the closed-door conversations that takes place late at night in the privacy of a bedroom between a husband who got his last paycheck and a wife who has to figure out how she will feed her children and keep a roof over their heads? Rush Limbaugh has probably never heard one of those conversations that take place with hushed whispers ... quiet conversations that take place when parents don't want to frighten their children.
It might even be a good idea for this pathetic radio demagogue to put his solid gold microphone down for a few days and spend some time with his Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity chicken-hawk crowd touring V.A. hospitals. Perhaps then Mr. Limbaugh, who himself received a military deferment, could appreciate Obama's effort to end W's Iraq disaster instead of hoping for Obama's failure.
These latest words give us a creepy picture of the real heart and soul of Mr. Limbaugh. Because as he rallies his ditto-head crowd around the hopes of failure for Obama, he is in effect hoping that all of America fails.
But last Sunday, a prayer of hope and compassion delivered by a preacher who truly cares about America made Rush sound like the petty, irrelevant demagogue that he has worked so hard to become.
For the video, click here.