White House's Gibbs Blasts Rush Limbaugh to Defend Federal Automaker Takeover

What is it with this White House and publicly calling out conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh?

If you recall, back in January 2009 President Barack Obama told Republican congressional leaders to quit listening to Limbaugh if they wanted to get things done. It's happened once again. During the White House daily press briefing on July 29, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs took another couple of jabs Limbaugh - this time over the auto manufacturer bailout. In responding to a question concerning charges of "socialism," Gibbs went right after Limbaugh.

"Look, I'll say this - Rush Limbaugh and others wanted to walk away," Gibbs said. "Rush Limbaugh and others saw a million people that work at these factories that worked at these part suppliers that supported communities and thought that we should all just walk away. The president didn't think that walking away from a million jobs in these communities made a lot of economic sense."

But later during the briefing, Gibbs made the second Limbaugh jab more personal. 

"I'll let those that sat in the cheap seats a year and a half ago and wanted to walk away from a million explain to every one of those workers why they made that decision and I think, better yet, ask them if they had that decision to make, if they would do it all over again - knowing that the $60 billion [the government loaned the auto industry] are on track to get paid back, knowing there's a million people still employed, knowing that we are adding 55,000 jobs, that plants are working through what is normally a planned ‘summer shut-down,' and that we are creating the jobs of the future, whether they thought the decision they made 16 or 18 months ago differed than that of the President of the United States and whether they still stand by it," Gibbs said. "And then you should ask Mr. Limbaugh, I don't know what kind of car he drives but I can bet it's not an F-150."

However, as Elizabeth Williamson pointed out for The Wall Street Journal pointed out, the F-150 truck is made by Ford, a company that didn't get federal bailout funds.