Saying It's Embarrassing Doesn't Make it So

President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron had a joint press conference yesterday. Of course Limbaugh characterizes it as embarrassing, and he tries to say why...but his objections don't make any sense.

RUSH: All right, let's listen. This is, I guess, the joint press conference yesterday in London at Lancaster House; David Cameron, the PM, joining President Obama. Reporter said, "Mr. President, you've talked about the need for robust action on your country's deficit and debt positions. Do you agree with the Prime Minister's supporters that he led the way on the issue, or do you feel that in fact he's traveled too far and too fast?"

OBAMA: One thing that I'm absolutely clear about is David and I want to arrive at the same point, a point in which we're making sure that our governments are doing what they need to do to ensure broad-based prosperity.

RUSH: They can't.

OBAMA: The other point I think David and I would agree on is that this is going to be a constant process of trying some things, making adjustments. There are gonna be opportunities for us to make investments. There are gonna other areas where we think those were good ideas at the time, programs that were started with the best of intentions and it turns out they're not working as well as they should. If a program's not working well we should get rid of it and put that money into programs that are working well. It means that we've gotta make sure that we take a balanced approach and that there's a mix of cuts but also thinking about how do we generate revenue so that there's a match between money goin' out and money comin' in.

RUSH: (pause) Hmm? (pause) Sorry, folks, I don't think there was any "there" there. Okay, that was pretty meandering. That was wandering aimlessly in vain search of a coherent thought, and I don't think he found one. That was just gobbledygook. On Libya, another reporter: "Mr. President, you've said that Moammar Khadafy's exit from Libya is inevitable and that the US will continue with the campaign until his attacks stop. Does that also mean that you will commit the US to that campaign until Khadafy's removed from power, and would you be willing to commit additional US resources if that meant speeding up Khadafy's exit?"

OBAMA: The reason that we intervened in Libya was to protect people on the ground, uhh, and to give the Libyan people the space that they needed in order t'bring about, uhhh, a change toward democracy.

RUSH: The space that they needed?

OBAMA: We are strongly committed to seeing the job through, making sure that a minimum Khadafy doesn't have the capacity to send in a bunch of thugs to murder innocent civilians. So we have not put forward an -- any artificial timeline in terms of how long this will take.

RUSH: Yeah, you did. I mean, you said it would just take "days" at the outset. You said it would just take days. Yeah, you said "weeks, not months." That's right, "weeks, not months," and now it's open-ended. "Well, there's no timeline on this. No timeline on it. We gotta give the Libyan people the space that they need to bring about a change toward democracy." We have to give the Libyan people space? It's Khadafy that's gotta give 'em the space. I think that's right! Obama is the one that ran against Bush for not having a timeline to get out of Iraq. He wanted a timeline for exiting Iraq. And now, "Well, we can't be bound by timelines. Of course that's artificial." Let's listen to one from Cameron. Cameron wanted to get in on the Khadafy answer after that.

CAMERON: I so agree that the two key things here are patience and persistence. In terms of the US role, I would make this point which I'm not sure is widely understood in Britain or in Europe. Already a huge number of the sorties and the support and the air assets that are actually bringing the pressure to bear are US assets. There was this enormous effort at the beginning as the President said, but also a sustained amount of assets that have been used -- and as the President said, there are also unique assets and capabilities that the US has that others don't have that are so vital. We all have to ask: What is it that we can all do to make sure the pressure is really brought to bear?

RUSH: Oh, now, you could take this any number of ways. But it sounds to me like the Prime Minister here, when he says, " Already a huge number of the sorties and the support and the air assets that are actually bringing the pressure to bear are US assets." It sounds to me like Cameron wants everybody to know (paraphrased): "You know, this operation, you guys aren't that much on the sidelines. The American people are being told that you're kinda on the sidelines, that NATO, the UN, whoever else running this show, but a lot of US assets are behind this." Cameron's making it clear here just how involved the United States is. By the way, Snerdley you got the quote on Obama wrong. Here's was the actual quote. March 21st, Obama was in Santiago, Chile...

OBAMA MARCH 21: Let me emphasize that we anticipate this transition to take place in a matter of days and not a matter of weeks.

RUSH: You thought it was "weeks, not months." He said "days, not weeks." Right, and it's now been months with no end in sight 'cause any end in sight is an artificial timeline. But don't forget: He was insistent that Bush tell us exactly when we're getting out of Iraq.