The week that was

The inauguration was moving, in spite of a few minor glitches: there should have been some indication that most of the crowd was hearing a recording of YoYo Ma and Itzhak Perlman as they played; and, more importantly, the re-do of the swearing in should have been on television, if only to keep the right-wing nuts from having one more hook upon which to hang their suspicions. Speaking of right-wing nuts, Rush Limbaugh had to express the hope that President Obama's economic recovery plan fails on ideological grounds. As the "loyal opposition" expresses concern over the amount of deficit spending the President is requesting, I can't help but wonder why they didn't raise similar concerns as George W. Bush turned a budget surplus into the largest deficit in history. Why was it ok to spend money we didn't have to fight the war in Iraq, but not to prevent even more foreclosures and unemployment here at home? One of the great strengths of our nation and culture is that we are pragmatic enough to put common sense ahead of ideology. I know Rush has to be angry and outrageous to keep his listeners, but at what point are his words unpatriotic?