RUSH: Donald Rumsfeld, who is a true statesman, Donald Rumsfeld has served this country for decades. Donald Rumsfeld gave this country the best that he has. Donald Rumsfeld was the CEO of G. D. Searle & Company at the time they introduced aspartame, Equal, and released it onto the market, which everybody knows is an effort to poison people and turn ’em into communists. Just kidding, Snerdley. This is what some people think.
Rumsfeld is a great man. The John Kerrys, the Nancy Pelosis, the Hillary Clintons, the Barack Obamas and everybody associated with them tried to destroy Donald Rumsfeld. For eight years, both terms of the Bush administration, secretary of defense, tried to destroy him, along with trying to destroy Dick Cheney and Scooter Libby and Karl Rove, tried to destroy him. Not just disagreed with him. Tried to destroy him. It was infuriating, and it’s not uncommon. The left uses this as their modus operandi.
Rumsfeld was on with Greta last night. I really wish I could play the whole thing for you. It is such an illustration of the stark contrast between then and now. True statesmanship, true leadership, true competence, versus the rank amateur fire drill that we’re living with now. I’ve only got one sound bite here, but it’ll give you a flavor. Greta Van Susteren said to Rumsfeld, “What’s the worst-case scenario? What do we have to worry about?”
RUMSFELD: What you have to worry about is that the role of the United States is seen as ineffective, weak, and that our country is in decline. The credibility of the United States has already been damaged, and it would probably be further damaged if we did, quote, a shot across the bow, and that’s it. We’re better off not doing that, it seems to me. The absence of leadership is a signal to the world that the United States is withdrawing, that the United States is not gonna be a factor for contributing to peace and stability in the world, and if someone said, “Well, what’s the biggest thing you worry about?” I would worry about that.
RUSH: And that’s big. First time in our history we will not be standing for that. First time in our history we will not be contributing to peace and stability in the world. The absence of leadership, which is what we’ve got here, is a signal to the world that the US is withdrawing, that we are in decline, that we’re no longer a factor. He didn’t say it, but I can. This is all on purpose, by design. Because we now are being led by people who do not believe in the goodness of this country in the way Donald Rumsfeld does. They don’t believe that the United States has contributed to peace and stability. We have done just the opposite. We are the reason for the instability of the world, and we are the reason for the lack of peace. And I am not exaggerating, folks.
If you get these people privately, when there are no cameras or microphones around, and they’re just in whatever their faculty lounge equivalent is, sipping cocktails, this is what you’re gonna hear ’em say. Do not doubt me. It is what informs them, it’s what animates them, it’s why they want to be in charge of the country, is to change that. They think this country has behaved immorally and in an unjust way. Look at that college professor at Michigan State. We’ve stolen and raped the world’s resources. We’ve taken them for our use. We’ve made the world poorer. They believe this. A United States in decline is what’s desired so that we learn a lesson about what it’s like for the rest of the people in the world. It’s about time we got a comeuppance. We’re not this great exceptional place. They don’t believe it, they never have.
You know, what we played for you yesterday, Obama (imitating Obama), “My credibility isn’t on the line. I didn’t draw that red line. The world drew that red line.” You may have heard that, started laughing, like we did here. And you may have been incredulous when you heard it. But let me tell you something. To real statesmen, to people who take the highest positions of leadership in this country very seriously, that was something incomprehensible. Never expect something like that from a president. A congressman or senator, but never from a president. “I didn’t draw that red line. I’m not responsible. My credibility isn’t on the line.” They can’t believe it. Even when they go on TV, they’re not really expressing how dumbfounded, disappointed and scared they are about what that kind of mentality means.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: I think the word I’m looking for here is “appalled,” and it may be worse than that. I mean, true leaders and statesmen, people who really take this stuff seriously, who have a cherished opinion of this country, are appalled, folks, at what they’re seeing. On the international stage, they’re just literally appalled. Rumsfeld on Greta last night was just appalled. You could see it. He made a good point that if Obama really wanted regime change, it might make a little more sense what we’re doing here. At least there’d be a goal. At least there’d be an objective. But what’s the point. A shot across bow? What are we doing here? What really are we doing? Nobody can answer that question.
What are we doing? Human rights, civil rights violations because of nerve gas, what are we doing? What we’re doing is being guided by the absolute intellectual vacancy of liberalism. The emptiness, the sophistry, the symbolism of liberalism is what’s leading us and guiding us and directing us. I mean the country; not you and me. And serious people are appalled by this. Rumsfeld: The president has tried to find a way to blame everybody or everything for everything. Leadership requires you stand up; you take a position; you provide clarity; you take responsibility.
Grab sound bite 20 from today. Here’s Obama from yesterday. And, by the way, not just people like Rumsfeld or Cheney, but I’m telling you everybody around the world that takes this stuff seriously, who keeps up with it. It was last summer, Obama drew the red line. He defined what crossing the red line would mean. Yesterday: No, I didn’t. I didn’t do that. I didn’t do that at all.
OBAMA: I didn’t set a red line. The world set a red line. The world set a red line when governments representing 98% of the world’s population said —
RUSH: Okay, that’s enough. Move on to sound bite 21. He was asked about it at a Q&A press conference, “What do you mean you didn’t set the red line? Everybody heard you set the red line.”
OBAMA: My credibility is not on the line. The international community’s credibility is on the line, and America and Congress’ credibility is on the line.
RUSH: But not his. Stop the tape. Folks, this is some “pathic.” I don’t know what, psychopathic, it’s some pathic. (imitating Obama) “I didn’t set that red line. I didn’t draw the red line. My credibility isn’t on the line.” Congress and America, the country, but not him? He drew the red line, then he said he didn’t, then he said his credibility isn’t on the line. It’s Congress’ fault ’cause they’re the ones that passed a resolution decades ago against the use of chemical weapons. So, yeah, it’s the Republicans’ fault. And you’ve got people watching this, and I’m telling you, they’re questioning the stability of the people running this country and they’re scared to death.
They’re not gonna go on television and say that. They’re gonna go on TV and say what Rumsfeld said last night. We have a wonderful country, and if the president would bring in good advisers, sit down and think through where he is and get down to bedrock, to concrete, and know where he is and then decide that he’s willing to make a decision. Either the decision is to not do something, if he’s unwilling to do anything that’s gonna change the regime. I think he’s probably better off doing nothing and accepting the burden that falls on us from all of his prior statements, than going out there and making an absolute stupid mistake.
Now, those are not Rumsfeld’s words, the last ones, I’m throwing them in myself. But this is dangerous. And it’s not cool, and it’s not clever lying, and it’s not brilliant politics. It’s not Obama cleverly outwitting his opponents. He’s president of the United States, he’s not up to it. He doesn’t want the job. He doesn’t want the responsibility, not on something like this. He would be glad to raise your taxes and control your life with health care. But he doesn’t want all this. This is too messy. He’s doing this stuff ’cause he’s got to. He’s gotta provide cover for the Democrats and he’s gotta do all these things, but this is too messy. But he does have the job, and it’s not responsible. I don’t know whether he knows it or not, his credibility is on the line.
It is his credibility on line, and there’s nothing he can do about that. He can go all day and say, “I didn’t draw the red line. Congress drew that red line, international community. It’s not my credibility. It may be America’s problem, not mine.” Can you imagine any president ever saying, “It’s not my problem, it’s America’s problem.” Who the hell says that? Who, what kind of person thinks that? That’s what’s got people troubled. It’s not my problem, it’s America’s problem. This is not some college professor, not some president of the law review here. This is not some state senator voting “present,” although it actually is. That’s what this looks like.
Moving on, Dr. Kissinger, if I can find my place. Yep, audio sound bite number four. Dr. Kissinger last night On the Record With Greta Van Susteren. She said, “If you don’t agree with the president that this is in our national interests, should you still go along with the president because he has proclaimed it is?” Meaning, okay, look, the president, should we support the guy just because of that, even if we don’t agree with what he’s doing?
KISSINGER: What is the impact on the international situation? If the president of the United States for the first time in American history is refused authority by the Congress to do what he has declared in the national interests, the impact of that on allies and on people that we will have to be in possible confrontation with could be enormous. I don’t think this issue should ever have been brought to the Congress as a single issue of does one strike or does one not strike?
RUSH: Of course not, so why was it? For political reasons. That’s all this is, is Obama gunning for the 2014 midterms. All this is. He doesn’t need congressional authority to do what he said he’s gonna do, and it is a surgical strike of cruise missiles. He doesn’t need congressional authority. He’s even said he doesn’t need it. But after a 45-minute walk on the White House grounds, Obama had a revelation. And he said, “I am going to ask Congress for permission, authorization.” I don’t know who he was walking with, but it had to be a political adviser who said, “Mr. president, let’s turn this to our advantage, find a way to blame it on the Republicans,” which is all they ever do. Everything they do is designed to eliminate political opposition.
That unqualified, incompetent college professor at Michigan State that we played for you in the first hour, same thing. These people are not interested in debating in the arena of ideas and prevailing on the strength of their ideas. They don’t want to deal with any opposition. So Obama is using the Syrian people and whatever is happening there as an opportunity to defeat Republicans again. He doesn’t need congressional authority, but now he’s gonna seek it, and I’m telling you he’s hoping they don’t grant it. That gives him two things that he wants. A, he doesn’t have to launch an attack, and, two, he can blame it all on them. (imitating Obama) “I told you it wasn’t my problem. I told you my credibility wasn’t on the line. It’s the Republicans. Republicans don’t care about this country. Republicans don’t care about doing what is right. Republicans don’t care about people dying from nerve gas. Republicans, Republicans, Republicans. Villains, villains, villains. They don’t care who’s dying from nerve gas. I did everything I could. I went by the Constitution. I asked them to help me, and they didn’t want to help. They don’t care.”
That’s the name of the game.
That’s the Obama administration in a nutshell: “How do we blame everything on the Republicans?” James Carville was on O’Reilly last night. We got the tape. Blame Bush! You know why this mess exists? Is because Bush went into Iraq, and everybody hated it, and now nobody trusts Obama to do the right thing because of Bush. If Bush hadn’t made such a mess of Iraq, then everybody would be totally supporting Obama, but everybody remembers what a mess that was.
Hey, James? Let me tell you the truth — something you know, my friend. Iraq was not a mess. You guys made it a mess in the US media and in the halls of Congress, but it wasn’t a mess. You guys made it that. You convinced people it was a mess. This is cowardice, to go back and keep blaming this on Bush. And then Dr. Kissinger here, don’t forget one of the salient points he made: What is the impact on the international situation?
The president, for the first time in American history, is refused authority by the Congress to do what he’s declared in the national interest? (interruption) Well, what Obama wants is exactly that story. He wants a headline in the New York Times that says: “For the First Time in American History, Republican Congress Denies President.” That’s what he wants, folks. That’s what all this is about. I don’t know if Kissinger knows what he swerved into or not, but that’s what Obama wants.
He wants that headline the New York Times and all over networks. “For the First Time in American History, Republican Congress Denies President,” or “For the First Time in American History, Congress — Led By Republicans — Denies President What He Has Asked for in the National Interest.” That’s what they want. That’s the endgame. That headline. Henry Kissinger, he’s looking at it the other way: What’s the impact on the international situation if the president is denied?
What Kissinger is saying is, that ends all respect for America, ’cause what that says to the world is, “The Congress thinks the president’s joke.” Obama wants the headline domestically: “For the First Time in American History, Congress…” Again, it won’t take long in the body of that story to find racism as the reason: “Racist Republicans, for the first time in American history, denied a president — Obama — the use of force in a situation in the national interests.”
That’s exactly what they want. It’s not about the people of Syria. It’s not about Assad, chemical weapons and so forth. The only enemy Obama really is energized to destroy is us, folks — Republicans, the Tea Party — and notice, this is all happening while the Republican leadership in Washington is doing everything it can to befriend Obama.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Hey, folks? Now it must be really getting serious, ’cause Obama is canceling a fundraiser in Hollywood to stay in Washington to deal with the Syrian situation. That means this is serious. A fundraiser is the second most important thing in Obama’s life, and to cancel one of those means it’s getting serious.
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