Rush Limbaugh lashed out at President Obama on the airwaves yesterday, calling him “immature, inexperienced, in over his head,’’ and asserting that the president was pushing a radical agenda and laying siege to the economy.
Interviewed from his home in Palm Beach, Fla., Limbaugh was the lone guest on “Fox News Sunday,’’ a network the Obama administration has labeled as the voice of the far-right wing of the Republican Party.
Obama adviser David Axelrod swung back later in the morning from Chicago on CBS’s “Face the Nation.’’
One question in, Limbaugh said that his country had “never seen this kind of radical leadership at such a high level of power.’’ He said it seems that the administration is bent on destroying the private sector on purpose, amounting to “a denial of liberty, an attack on freedom.’’
He said Obama’s swift rise to the White House after “a five-minute career’’ makes him a “man-child president.’’
“I think he’s got an out-of-this-world ego,’’ Limbaugh said. “He’s very narcissistic. And he’s able to focus all attention on him all the time. That description is simply a way to cut through the noise and say he’s immature, inexperienced, in over his head.’’
Axelrod, one of two guests on the 30-minute CBS broadcast, dismissed the remarks of the conservative commentator.
“I think it’s a surreal day when you’re getting lectures on humility from Rush Limbaugh,’’ Axelrod said. “The fact is that he is an entertainer. The president has to run the country.’’
He addid: “We walked into a difficult situation. I think he’s handling it very, very well.’’
Limbaugh belittled Obama’s surprise middle-of-the-night trip last week to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to observe the return of 18 flag-covered cases holding the remains of Americans killed in Afghanistan. “It was a photo op’’ designed to create the impression of concern, he said.
Axelrod said Obama went to Dover “to represent the American people and pay his respects to the families who had made so much of a sacrifice, to those brave service people who made the ultimate sacrifice. It was the appropriate thing to do.’’
Scozzafava said Democrat Bill Owens would be better at building on the legacy of Republican John McHugh, who previously represented the 23d Congressional District. McHugh vacated the seat after accepting a position in the Obama administration as secretary of the Army. The special election to replace him is scheduled for tomorrow.
“John and I worked together on the expansion of Fort Drum, and I know how important that base is to the economy of this region,’’ Scozzafava said. “I am confident that Bill will be able to provide the leadership and continuity of support to Drum Country just as John did.’’
A recent Siena College poll showed Scozzafava finishing a distant third behind Owens and conservative Doug Hoffman. Big-name Republicans including Sarah Palin, former vice presidential candidate, and Fred Thompson, former Tennessee senator, threw their support behind Hoffman.
