Hey Republicans - He IS An Entertainer!

Say what you will about Barack Obama - you can love him or hate him, but he and his team are brilliant at the political game, and kicking their opponents when they are down.

Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has managed to successfully paint Rush Limbaugh as the head of the Republican party, and in the course of doing so, he's been able to sit back and let Limbaugh and RNC Chairman Michael Steele attack each other, further dividing an already-weakened GOP.

Steele, quite rightly so, tried to make the point that Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Limbaugh is not an elected official. It is not his job to consider the views of constituents. It is not his job to legislate, or to work with the opposing party to find middle ground on the issues of the day. It is Limbaugh's job to rouse the anger of his audience, and to grow that audience any way he can. Having a working, functional government is an inherent conflict of interest to Limbaugh. This is not a criticism... It is merely a fact. And if the people who get their political guidance from him don't realize that, then we're all in trouble.

Unfortunately, Steele has caved, and now apologized to Rush, which is absolutely the worst thing he could have done, because it only validates the notion that Limbaugh IS, in fact, the head of the Republican party.

Whether Limbaugh is taking the spotlight and running with it (which I strongly suspect is the case), or whether his fame has gotten to his head and he thinks he actually has an active role in shaping the direction of the Republican party, this is NOT good for either the GOP or the country.

I know the Democrats are giddy over watching the GOP implode, but the timing of this could not be worse. President Obama is making decisions right now that will shape the direction of the nation for the next half-century... and increasingly, he's doing it without credible checks and balances from the opposition party. We NEED opposition opinions, regardless of which party is in power.

If this GOP slide continues, it won't be good for anyone - except, perhaps... Rush Limbaugh. It's time for his to go back to being the "harmlsss little fuzzball" that he's always claimed to be.