Obama and Rush

CBS News: "In an interview with CBS News' Harry Smith yesterday, President Obama was asked if he is "aware of the level of enmity that crosses the airwaves and that people have made part of their daily conversation" about him. Smith noted that the president is regularly called a "Nazi" and a "socialist."

"Well, I think that when you listen to Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck, it's pretty apparent, and it's troublesome, but keep in mind that there have been periods in American history where this kind of vitriol comes out," Mr. Obama responded. "It happens often when you've got an economy that is making people more anxious, and people are feeling like there is a lot of change that needs to take place. But that's not the vast majority of Americans. I think the vast majority of Americans know that we're trying hard, that I want what's best for the country."

"Limbaugh responded to Mr. Obama's comments in an interview with the Washington Examiner's Byron York. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he contested the president's claims.

"I and most Americans do not believe President Obama is trying to do what's best for the country," said the conservative talk show host. "Never in my life have I seen a regime like this, governing against the will of the people, purposely. I have never seen the media so supportive of a regime amassing so much power. And I have never known as many people who literally fear for the future of the country."

I know -- one can hardly expect Limbaugh to say anything other than this. It's his job to beat this drum, for which he is well compensated. But it is still disheartening. Cheney works relentlessly to expand the power of the Presidency in unprecedented ways, with the 24-hour support of FOX News every step of the way, and Limbaugh says "I have never seen the media so supportive of a regime amassing so much power." How is Obama's administration amassing power, compared to the Bush moves? How is the media supporting his agenda more than FOX supported Bush? It's a race down the rabbit hole, where one side accuses the other of its own offenses.

It gets back to Obama's point... vitriol is a good word for it. One would think the profusion of new media would provide more opportunities for the truth to get out, but in fact it's creating more opportunities for myth-making. The Bush White House was not nearly as bad as the critics made it out to be, and the Obama White House is not nearly as bad as the critics are making it out to be. But there's no question but that this vitriol is making it harder for the country to come together. Because if Obama is Hitler, how can you negotiate with him? He must be resisted at all costs. That kind of formulation serves no one. Except, perhaps, for the people who need to keep their ratings up.