RUSH: This next story is literally hilarious. As you know, George Stephanopoulos asked President Obama what he thought of Sarah Palin’s comments about his new nuclear policy. And Stephanopoulos is catching heat from other people in Government-Controlled Media. ‘Why would 
you ask the president about anything Sarah Palin said?’ Because apparently Obama looked petty in the way he answered it. (imitating Obama) ‘Well, I don’t think she knows anything about nuclear –‘ (muttering) He dismissed her. And, of course, Palin today at a Republican meeting down in New Orleans said, ‘Well, what the hell does he, as a community organizer, know about nuclear weapons?’ So she’s getting the best of this. Stephanopoulos is catching a lot of heat from his colleagues and associates in State-Controlled Media. And now, Stephanopoulos is defending his decision to ask Obama to respond to Sarah Palin’s criticism of his nuclear nonproliferation policy. ‘The exchange was notable not only because of the dismissive tone of the president’s response but also because the question seemed out of place for a weighty discussion on nuclear weapons policy.’ This is from the HuffPo, by the way. ‘Why would Stephanopoulos treat Palin as some form of policy expert?’
Steve Benen of The Washington Monthly said Stephanopoulos was essentially saying, ‘Some conspicuously unintelligent right-wing media personality said something stupid about a subject she knows nothing about. Mr. President, how do you respond?’ And of course would one of you people in the State-Run Media tell me what Obama knows about it? Because Palin is exactly right. How do you learn about nukes as a community organizer?
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Wednesday night on the Fox News Channel, Hannity is talking to Palin, he said, ‘The president is saying if there’s a biological, chemical attack against the country, any type of major cyber-attack, if it’s a country that is part of the nonproliferation treaty, that America has taken nuclear weapons off the table. What’s your reaction to that?’
PALIN: Unbelievable, unbelievable. No administration in America’s history would I think ever have considered such a step that we just found out that President Obama is supporting today. You know, that’s kind of like getting out there on the playground, a bunch of kids ready to fight and — and one of the kids saying, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face and I’m not going to retaliate, go ahead and do what you want with me.’ No, it’s unacceptable.
RUSH: Stephanopoulos to Obama, leader of the regime on ABC’s World News Tonight: ‘She said, ‘It’s unbelievable, no other administration would do it. Then she likened it to kids on a playground, like a kid who says, ‘Punch me in the face and I’m not going to retaliate.’ What’s your response?’
OBAMA: I really have no response to that. Last I checked Sarah Palin is not much of an expert on nuclear issues.
STEPHANOPOULOS: But the strain of criticism has been out there among other Republicans as well. They think you’re restricting use of nuclear weapons too much.
OBAMA: And what I would say to them is that if the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are comfortable with it, I’m probably going to take my advice from them and not from Sarah Palin.
RUSH: You can just hear he’s so ticked off that he had the audacity to bring up Palin, who is she? Maybe Obama was taking his cue from Jane Fonda. Monday night, Larry King Barely Alive on CNN.
FONDA: You betcha. I think she could have a television show, maybe.
KING: She’s got one.
FONDA: But she should — she should not be a politician, in my opinion.
KING: What do you make of this story?
FONDA: Sad.
KING: Sad?
FONDA: Well, I think it’s sad when someone says I’m going to — you know, I’m going to run for office and they can’t answer basic questions, you know, about the world, about what they read, about history, things like that. I mean, I think we should take our — our political world, life, members who aspire to be elected officials more seriously. You know, they have to be grounded in some kind of reality.
KING: How do you account for her popularity?
FONDA: I don’t know. It worries me, frankly.
RUSH: I don’t know. It worries me, frankly. Jane Fonda at the height of her activism was out there saying that nobody helped ’em in their revolution. The Jane Fonda that we all know sat on the anti-aircraft weapon over in Hanoi or wherever she was. Everything she said here, ‘You know, members who aspire to be elected officials, we need to take things more seriously.’ Where in the world do these people think Obama got his qualifications? What are they? It’s clearly nothing more than his education, went to Harvard. That alone qualifies.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Here’s Sarah Palin, by the way, this afternoon in New Orleans, Southern Republican Leadership Conference. She just keeps on bashing Obama.
PALIN: Now, the president, with all the vast nuclear experience that he acquired as a community organizer (audience cheers), and as a part time senator, and as a full-time candidate, all that experience — still, no accomplishment to date with North Korea and Iran. Meanwhile, this administration alienates our friends. They treated the Afghan president Karzai poorly and then they feigned surprise when he reacted in kind. They escalated a minor zoning decision into a major breach with Israel, our friend, our closest ally in the Middle East. Let’s remind our president: Jerusalem is not a settlement, and Israel is our friend.
RUSH: That’s right, Jerusalem is their capital. Now, say what you want about Sarah Palin, sounds to me like she knows what she’s talking about there. And I guarantee you that the regime does not take to this well at all.