The question isn't why the White House has begun sending surrogates to poke Rush Limbaugh with a sharp stick. It's why they're bragging about how coordinated the strategy is in The Politico. Do they really think Limbaugh such a blustering narcissist that he'd continue to play into their hands even after they've monologued their secret plans like a talkative supervillain in an 80s comic book?Well, yes. And evidently, they're right:"The administration is enabling me,” [Limbaugh] wrote in an e-mail to POLITICO. “They are expanding my profile, expanding my audience and expanding my influence. An ever larger number of people are now being exposed to the antidote to Obamaism: conservatism, as articulated by me. An ever larger number of people are now exposed to substantive warnings, analysis and criticism of Obama's policies and intentions, a ‘story’ I own because the [mainstream media] is largely the Obama Press Office.”The bigger, the better, agreed Carville. “It’s great for us, great for him, great for the press,” he said of Limbaugh. “The only people he’s not good for are the actual Republicans in Congress.”
They're playing Rush like a fiddle. Taunting him. To back down from their dare now would be an admission that he's a liability, as is his ideology. So instead, Rush is taking the road of maximum self-delusion: "An ever larger number of people are now being exposed to the antidote to Obamaism: conservatism, as articulated by me." He's certain that the White House is ensuring its destruction by elevating him. Certain that quisling Republicans are dismissing their savior by distancing from him. Certain that more Rush means more conservatism. It's almost sad to watch a man's psychology so expertly manipulated.Almost.
