I disagree. How is attacking the President of the United States--the most powerful person in our country--any different than attacking a General? I thought it was stupid that Congress gave a joke of an organization like MoveOn any importance.
Sadly its different for a slight societal reason.
In general, while the President IS the commander in chief, its not his only job. He is the top political figure in the country, elected by the people, and so is general to open to critisism and attacks.
Generals are not political figures, they're not elected, and their job at all times is to pretty much lead our men and women in war. They also are forbidden from making certain political statements and other things while in uniform leaving them rather vulnerable to political attacks.
So there is a difference, at least societally, on how its viewed and been viewed for many years. Clinton wasn't free of attacks, and Bush most CERTAINLY wasn't free to attacks, its just the nature of being a politician...not a general.
I'm not saying its right, I'm just saying it is on a different level than others.
That said, I think people need to actually address Limbaugh's actual comments in context whether than how its being percieved.
Saying you want Obama to fail, flat out, cut and dry, is pretty bad.
Saying you want him to fail in the context that you do not want his specific policies he preaches to be successful because you deep down in your core principles believe that in the long term they will be disasterous for this country is different.
For example, lets take a Republican in office instead.
Lets say they've said they want to cut welfare benefits in half, completely do away with the department of education so its completely a state issue, get a ban on abortion passed, and repeal a huge number of environmental regulations.
I think it'd be perfectly understandable for someone on the opposite side of him (or even maybe the same side) to say that they hope he "fails", in terms of hoping that things like a huge cut to welfare or a ban on abortion fails, because even if they DID help the country in the short term that persons deep down, personal principles say those things are going to be bad for this country in the long term even if they may be good in the short term.
I too hope most of Obama's policies that he stated while running fail. I hope we don't see National Healthcare. I hope we don't see massive government intervention into businesses and more and more take overs of businesses. I hope we don't see amnesty given to everyone illegal in the U.S. right now or an immediete full withdrawl from Iraq mandated. I do hope all those initiatives fail to happen.
I do not hope Obama's Presidency "fails" in regards to it helping America though.
I hope that his goals and things will be tempered by those on the other side, and that those republicans still in some kind of power are able to forge compromises that reduce the negative affects I believe Obama's policies would do. I hope that on things like immigration, his policies fail from the voices of the nation rising up again as they did last time. I hope that through listening to the public, changes in his own beliefs through getting more information in the position he's in, and staunch opposition by the Republicans working for compromises that he DOES succeed as President and America DOEs prosper under him.
But I, deep in my core, in my base principles, do not think such success and goodness in a long term way will be had if certain portions of his policies pass. And it is those things I hope he "fails" at.
And that was what Rush was saying if people took him on context, instead of people seeing Limbaugh, knowing he can be a blow hard and is a typical slimy hyper partisan, and immedietely going "how can we misconstrue his words to get extra angry today". I'm not saying EVERYONE that believes he honestly said he wants Obama to Fail, as a blanket general statement, is looking to misconstrue his words and just do it for the sake of being angry at him...but I am saying the sources that started this campaign, which has then reached into blogs and news, which has then reached into peoples minds and given them the impression are.