On Ron Paul. I dug out of my archives a thread from Townhall.com I saved from 2007 in which a big three-way, or maybe a four-way debate went on about his presidential candidacy. I did participate. I hope to (sometime) turn it into a major (read, long) essay on American foreign policy.

Most Americans don’t know how continuous our overall foreign policy has really been. They think modern interventionism started with Wilson. Er, no.

But, all that’s for later.

I hope you enjoyed Rush. I sure did.

This means C-SPAN will have the speech in their archives. I’m still hoping for a transcript as well.

“This notion that I want the president to fail, this shows you the problem we’ve got. This is nothing more than common sense and to not be able to say it? Why in the world would I want what we just described: rampant government growth, welfare that is not being created yet is being spent? What is in this, what is possibly in this that any of us want to succeed? Did the Democrats want the war of Iraq to fail? They certainly did. And they not only wanted the war in Iraq to fail they proclaimed it a failure…. They hoped George Bush failed. So what is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?”

“I know what’s going on. We are in the aspects here of a historic presidency, I know that. But let me be honest again, I got over the historical aspects of that in November. President Obama is our president. President Obama stands for some things. He could be a Martian. He could be from Michigan. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me what his race is. It doesn’t matter. He is liberal. That’s what matters to me…. I want the country to survive. I want the country to succeed.”

“Ladies and gentleman of the United States, the Democrat Party has actively not just sought the failure of Republican presidents, and policies, and now war for the first time. The Democrat party does not stop at failure. Talk to judge Robert Bork, talk to justice Clarence Thomas about how they try to destroy lives, reputations and character. And I’m supposed to say I don’t want the president to fail? We are in for a real battle. We are talking about the United States of America… remaining the country we were all born into and reared and grown into. And it is under assault, it has always been under assault. But it has never been under assault like this, from within.”

Limbaugh cautioned conservatives to quit thinking of themselves as the minority and mocked Obama and the media by saying, “For those of you in the ‘drive-by’ media watching, I have not needed a teleprompter for anything I’ve said.”

He also waxed philosophical: “Freedom is the natural yearning of the human spirit as we were endowed by our creator,” Limbaugh said.

Limbaugh praised Obama’s political talents, and said “It just breaks my heart that he does not use these gifts to motivate and inspire the American people.” He also added that Obama, “could wipe out the Republican Party if he would inspire this country to be the best it could be.”

Some of Limbaugh’s comments will predictably draw controversy and criticism. For example, he mocked Joe Biden’s past racist remarks about Indians, joking that, “Joe Biden was mystified how Bobby Jindal got his shift off at 7-11 that night to make the speech” He also noted that the Democratic Primary was more racially tinged than the general election.

Limbaugh also took on so-called conservatives who believe the way to win in the future is to abandon conservatism: “The era of Reagan is over?? When the hell do you ever hear a liberal say the era of FDR is over?,” Limbaugh asked.

I am much more sympathetic to his views on economics, which boil down to this: Get Out of the Way. (Which IMHO would make a fine slogan for what we really should be doing about the recession.)

If libertarians would start doing some serious thinking about the necessity of the use of coercive power at times in a cruel anarchic world, I’d start taking their thoughts more seriously on topics such as the military and American foreign affairs.

The world has become much too small and weaponry has become far too lethal to assume Fortress America isolationism would ever work again.

Remember Sept. 11.

Shill Hammity is a well coifed parrot who I rarely (ever?) have heard speak an original thought.

While Limbaugh is grating to some because of his chosen schtick I give him credence and he is worth listening to (in summary preferably) while Hannity is waste of time and airwaves to me. Wouldn’t you LOVE to see a Limbaugh, Savage, Paul 3 way forum? I would pay to see that.

One kudo for Hannity is his efforts on behalf of service members and their families. It is a fine thing.