RUSH: Somebody tell me, what happened to, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”? Greetings, my friends, welcome to the Rush Limbaugh program on Friday.

JOHNNY DONOVAN: And now, from sunny south Florida, it’s Open Line Friday!

RUSH: Open Line Friday. No shortage of things to be interested in out there today, folks. So let’s hear from you. Telephone number, 800-282-2882, and the e-mail address, ElRushbo@eibnet.com. Open Line Friday is a career risk taken by me, shown to be worth it, over 25 years, one day a week, callers can discuss anything that they care about. It doesn’t have to be related to the news, it doesn’t have to be related anything I care about. It could be we draw the line at people complaining about the electric bill and that kind of stuff, sewage problems, but pretty much anything else, have at it. Feel free. Looking forward to talking to you. Telephone number is 800-282-2882, again.

Okay, we don’t have a strategy yet to deal with ISIS. And not only do we not have a strategy to deal with ISIS, the president of the United States told ’em that. He told them that in a press conference yesterday. Then he told Putin and the Russians that we’re not gonna do anything about whatever’s going on in Ukraine. And then he said that we’re never gonna be able to vanquish ISIS. We’re never gonna be able to get rid of ’em. So you Iraqis, if you’re worried about it, you better step up, ’cause we can’t deal with them. I mean, we can put ’em down, but we can’t get rid of them.

Can you imagine if that had been the attitude about Hitler and the Nazis? Can you imagine if that had been the attitude about imperial Japan back in World War II? Can you imagine if that had been the attitude about the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall? Can you imagine if that had been the attitude? “Hey, you know, we’re never gonna be able to get rid of these people. We’re gonna have to find a way to compromise with ’em, find a way to live with ’em. If you’re directly affected by ’em, don’t bother, Rush, you’re on your own.”

Like you Iraqis. “Come on, you better step up. If you can’t deal with this, it’s your problem. I’m not gonna help you anymore. We can’t do anything about it.” Imagine if that attitude had been prevalent during World War I. Can you imagine if Barack Obama had been around during the Revolutionary War? “Hey, you guys made a big mistake. We can’t get rid of the British here. What are you talking about?” Can you imagine Barack Obama as president during any period of time saying about the equivalent threat of that period what he is saying about ISIS? He says this while his own defense secretary says ISIS is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, while his idiotic secretary of state also sounds the drums about how dangerous this bunch is.

I’m telling you, people are trying to figure this out. And I must tell you, I do get some pleasure, just a little pleasure — it’s very limited — when I listen to all of the people who told us in the first three months of 2009 what a brilliant man this was. I’m not just talking about David Brooks and the comment he made about Obama’s sharp crease in his slacks and what that portended for a great presidency.

There were all kinds of people who were bending over backwards and in a race with everybody else to try to come up with the perfect sycophantic description of this man’s intelligence and his qualifications and his newness, his uniqueness. And, as you know, I was not among those people that saw Obama that way. Not only was I not, I was stunned that they could. But, boy, did they race with each other to try to be the first to the nearest camera or microphone to praise. I’m talking about people on our side, folks.

You know, I listened to Hillary Clinton today. She’s out speaking about Ferguson and she’s quoting Martin Luther King. Do you realize how incompetent this woman is and always has been? And you’ll hear it when I get to the audio sound bite. The woman is a total incompetent. She’s total phony. She’s a total fake. She’s a fake and phony from Wellesley on, from Yale and all those days on. Everything is a calculation, and everything is an act. There isn’t one ounce of genuineness. She’s not alone in that. That has become our politics, sadly, but this is so easy.

So many people think that so many other people are smarter than they are, or let’s make it even more personal. So many people, so many of you probably look around, “Ah, man they’re smarter than I am. I don’t know that I could –” Steve Jobs once said, and it might have been in his commencement speech at Stanford, he said (paraphrasing), “Don’t make the mistake of thinking just because you haven’t done something you can’t do it. And don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because there’s whole bunch of people doing something that they’re the smartest ones doing it. Don’t fall prey to that. Don’t ever put down your own intelligence. Don’t ever slight your own ability.”

I think all of Washington never gets out of high school. I think they never get out of high school. It’s cliquish. It’s based on so much phoniness, formulaic phoniness, pedigree, where you went to school, who mommy and daddy were, this kind of stuff. And that ends up being what is supposedly substantive about someone, rather than who they really are. Who Barack Obama is and the fact that he’s not qualified and never has been qualified has not been a mystery. It’s been something you had to overlook. His lack of qualifications, his lack of training, lack of ability, is something that you had to consciously overlook if you wanted to support the guy or even if you wanted to be fair.

This is just more of the same. Okay, you don’t have a strategy. What he means is he doesn’t care, folks. He doesn’t care. He doesn’t want to be bothered by it. This is not why he became president. This is an interruption. It’s interference. This is getting in the way of what he really wants to do, what his purpose is, which is the transformation of the country. But he’s gotta do this stuff because it’s part of the job. But he really doesn’t like it and he’s not interested in it. If you’re gonna go out and say you don’t have a strategy, don’t say it. Why say it? Don’t chalk that up to being just a blinder. There are people inside the White House, if they’re aware that’s what he’s gonna say, “You know, you really don’t want to go out and say that.” It was intended, is my bottom line.

Now, Vladimir Putin’s out today, “Don’t mess with nuclear Russia.” Vlad, you got nothing to worry about. Obama’s off, he said so. You can do whatever you want in Ukraine, he’s not gonna stop you. He can’t. Doesn’t care. “President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, RussiaÂ’s armed forces, backed by its nuclear arsenal, were ready to meet any aggression, declaring at a pro-Kremlin youth camp that foreign states should understand: ‘ItÂ’s best not to mess with us.'”

Well, don’t worry, because we don’t have a strategy for that. The Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron, went out today. I wonder if this is timed purposely to follow up Obama’s embarrassingly inept “We don’t have a strategy for that.” He went out and made a speech about how serious this really is, ISIS, and what we have to do about it. Now, they have to be defeated, but his manner of defeat leaves something to be desired. But still, he was he was defiant, and he was not slinking away. He was not acting afraid. He was not acting indifferent, and he properly characterized who these people are and why they have to be dealt with.

It was bold and it was forceful. It was confidence inspiring, until he got to his prescription. But we’ll cut him some slack on that. You’ll hear what I mean. I’m just setting the table here, folks, because your phone calls are coming up, it’s Open Line Friday. We got audio sound bites and so forth. I watch, listen to the press corps now, these people that have been slavishly covering for this guy for six years, that have been lying to this country about this or that, denying the truth about Obamacare, for example, to the people of this country, all to cover for Obama, all to make sure it all turns out for Obama, and even they can’t believe it.

I watched Lynn Sweet, who is a Chicago newspaper columnist on Fox this morning, and she was so flustered. She couldn’t put three words together in a row that made sense trying to explain this while at the same time expressing her total bewilderment at all of this, the “we don’t have a strategy for that.” They’re flummoxed. They did everything they could to prop this guy up. They’re the ones that told us how smart; they’re the ones who told us how qualified; they’re the ones that told us that Mitt Romney and George Bush are reprobates.

And they’re the ones that tell us when Mitt Romney travels the world and issues statements and defines our problems, that Romney’s an idiot, Romney’s the fool, Romney’s dangerous, Romney doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Obama’s the guy we have to go with. Obama’s the guy we have to listen to. “We don’t have a strategy for that.” So those same people, to listen to them now try to explain this is, well, somewhat enjoyable, in the limited scope that we have time to enjoy it, ’cause it’s actually quite dangerous, folks. It’s actually quite frightening that this is the attitude at the highest levels of the United States government.

Anyway, let me take a brief time-out. One quick sound bite before we go, then we’ll come back. There’s one media person we found. F. Chuck Todd is attempting to explain what Obama really meant when he said, “We don’t have a strategy for that.” Ed Henry, Fox News, who was there, says he can’t believe there weren’t any follow-ups. He wasn’t called on. He can’t believe that none of the press corps followed up when Obama said there wasn’t a strategy for dealing with ISIS. And there’s not a strategy for Syria, by the way. And there’s not a strategy for Ukraine, and there’s not a strategy for wherever. He couldn’t believe that the White House press corps didn’t follow up. Why would they? Anyway, great moments in presidential history.

FDR: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

JFK: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

REAGAN: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.

OBAMA: I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. We don’t have a strategy yet.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here’s Barack Obama yesterday afternoon in Washington at his “We don’t have a strategy” press conference.

OBAMA: I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. We don’t have a strategy yet. I think what I’ve seen in some of the news reports suggests that folks are getting a little further ahead of where we’re at than we currently are. And I think that’s not just my assessment, but the assessment of our military as well. We need to make sure that we’ve got clear plans, that we’re developing them. At that point I will consult with Congress and make sure that their voices are heard.

RUSH: Why? Why are you gonna consult with Congress? I thought Congress was dysfunctional? That’s why you were gonna have to do amnesty for five or 10, 20 million, whatever it is, illegals, ’cause you can’t work with Congress. Why all of a sudden are you gonna work with Congress on this? If they’re dysfunctional, they’re dysfunctional. Why don’t you just go ahead and do what you’re gonna do on this one? Why do you have to bring Congress in?

Did you note the whole tone of this? You could barely hear the guy, so soft-spoken, so deliberate. (imitating Obama) “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. We don’t have a strategy yet. I think what I’ve seen in some of the news reports suggests people getting a little further ahead of where we are. And that’s not just my assessment; that’s the assessment of our military.” See, there’s always a straw man. There’s always an invisible unrepresented you can’t-find-’em person that always agrees with Obama. But that’s not true. His own secretary of defense, Chuck Hagel has described ISIS as the absolute, biggest threat we’ve faced, that we don’t know anything like these guys before.

Here’s Obama (imitating Obama), “I think that’s not just my assessment, but the assessment of our military as well.” So again he’s informed by news reports. They gotta make sure we got clear plans that we’re developing and I will consult with Congress. So he wants nothing to do with this. He can’t wait to consult a dysfunctional Congress that he can’t wait to bypass on immigration. Now, there you’re talking. Now you got his time. Now you got his attention. Now you got his full commitment. Now you’re talking, immigration and amnesty, now you’ve got action. “ISIS? I don’t care. I really don’t.”

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Back to the Obama sound bites. This is yesterday afternoon at the I-don’t-have-a-strategy press conference. He got a question from a reporter. “Do you regret not moving on ISIS earlier, Mr. President? There’s some report indicating out there that most of the weapons, US weapons that they have they got it or they acquired it after the fall of Mosul.”

OBAMA: The idea that the United States or any outside power would perpetually defeat ISIS, uhh, I think is unrealistic. Uh, as I’ve said before, I think said it in the previous press conference, our military is the best in the world. We — we can rout ISIS on the ground and keep a lid on things temporarily, but then as soon as we leave, the same problems come back again. So we’ve gotta… We’ve gotta make sure that Iraqis understand, in the end they’re gonna be responsible for their own security.

RUSH: Folks, I want you to imagine FDR saying, “The idea that the United States and the Allied Powers could perpetually defeat Hitler is unrealistic. As I’ve said before, we got a great military, and we can rout the Nazis out of Paris or France, but it’s gonna be up to the French to take care of their security. We can’t do everything.” Can you imagine if Ronald Reagan said, “Well, one thing all have to realize, my fellow citizens, the Soviet Union is here to stay.

“Worldwide communism is here to stay. We might be able to kick ’em out of, oh, Grenada. We might be able to prevent ’em from establishing a beachhead in Nicaragua now and then, and we might be able to upset ’em in Cuba, but they’re always gonna be there. There’s no way we can ever, ever really perpetually defeat Soviet communism.” Can you imagine if FDR had said, “Remember last week when I told you that we would never, ever be able to perpetually defeat Hitler?

“Well, it’s the same thing with imperial Japan. The idea! I mean, they’re way over Pacific Ocean. We we never gonna be able to vanquish ’em. It’s about possible. You know, we can take ’em out on midway, maybe Iwo Jima if we have to but we’re never going to be able to beat them. It’s just not possible.” Can you imagine? Can you imagine Churchill during the Blitz, the Russians or the German V2 rockets are hitting and Churchill saying, “You know, there’s nothing we can do to stop this.

“I agree with President Roosevelt. We’re on our own. The US has the best military in the world and we’re second, but there’s not a thing we can do. We’re gonna have to find a way. Neville Chamberlain was right, my fellow citizens. We’re gonna have to find a way to deal with Hitler. We’re going to have to find a way, ’cause we can tamp him down over here, over there, but he’s gonna pop back up.” Can you imagine? This is… I don’t know. I run out of adjectives, folks.

Even if you think this, even if you’re just — I don’t know what — so corrupted that you even think this, why in the world go out and say it? In a worldwide press conference! Why go out and telegraph that we don’t even expect to be able to stop you? I don’t know. I just wonder about all these people who told us six years ago, “We’ve never seen anything like this before! Oh, no! We’ve never been in the company of such brilliance. Don’t question the man’s qualifications. He’s fine.

“He’s like us. He went to Harvard. Brilliant. Harvard Law Review, don’t you know? Brilliant, brilliant. Look at the crease of his slacks. There’s no reason to suspicious, and there’s no reason to be concerned. You hear the guy talk? He talks just like us. Smart as we are, maybe even smarter, if you can believe that. Nothing to worry about here.”

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: CNN right now has a discussion topic going, “What is it that drives people to Islamic extremism?” If you don’t understand ideology, you’re never going to be able to answer that question. Militant Islam is a political ideology. It is an extremist ideology. It is not a religious movement. They have conned everybody into believing they’re a religious movement so they have freedom to say and do whatever they want to do and be immune from criticism.

It is a militant extremist political ideology, militant Islam, the ISIS guys. But if you don’t see the world as ideological, if you don’t see liberalism as ideological, “No, liberalism is just what’s natural and good and decent. Conservatism and the Tea Party, now, that’s dangerous, that’s dangerous.” But they can’t figure out what would drive, why do these American guys, like this Douglas McAuthur McCain guy, why do they want to join ISIS? The answer is ideology. It’s right there if you just have the courage to face it and admit it. None of this is hard to understand. It’s hard to admit, maybe. But understanding it is not hard.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: We go back to the press conference yesterday, moving up now to audio sound bite number four. During the Q&A, this is after Obama has explained that there’s no strategy for dealing with ISIL, ISIS, an unidentified reporter said, “Mr. President, despite all of the actions the west has taken to get Russia to pull back from Ukraine, Russia seems intent on taking one step after another. Convoys, transports of arms? At what point do sanctions no longer work, and would you envisage –” (laughing) Sorry, folks. Good thing this guy’s not identified. (laughing) “Would you, Mr. President, would you envisage the possibility –” for those of you in Rio Linda, he meant to say “envision.” ” Would you envisage the possibility of a necessity of military action to get Russia to pull back from Ukraine, sir?”

OBAMA: We are not taking military action to solve the Ukrainian problem. What we’re doing is to mobilize the international community to apply pressure on Russia. But I think it is very important to recognize that a military solution to this problem is not gonna be forthcoming.

RUSH: Can you imagine Putin watching this? He cannot believe his luck that he got this guy as an adversary. So one day Obama says (imitating Obama), “Oh, no, ISIS? We don’t have a strategy for that, there isn’t any way.” Then Putin goes into Ukraine and Obama says, “Hey, there’s no way there’s a military solution to this problem, ain’t no way.” And it’s not by accident that Putin today announces we are back and you had better not stop us. Russia, nuclear Russia is back. He was at a children’s camp and he said you cannot stop us, you’d better not try, and Obama said, “You don’t have anything to worry about, Vlad. We have no intention of stopping you.”

Now, folks, don’t misunderstand. Nobody here is calling for military action in Ukraine to kick the Russians out. We already promised the Ukrainians we would do that, by the way. Let’s never forget, the Ukrainians disarmed in exchange for a promise of protection from us and Great Britain and some of the other NATO countries if they would disarm. And they disarmed. And now they have no way of defending themselves against a full onslaught from Russia.

Now, even if the president’s convinced that there isn’t a military solution, that we’re not gonna do that, why say it? I guarantee you Putin, he can’t believe it. What a stroke of luck I got with this guy for an adversary.