Rush Limbaugh Fails to Hold Bush Accountable In the effort to convince the public that a unilateral invasion of Iraq was necessary to maintain the security and well being of our nation, Bush made many statements. As the "truth detector" and self-proclaimed voice of patriotic people, shouldn't Rush Limbaugh have stepped forward to ask for confirmation of the claims our government was making? There is nothing trivial about committing Americans to kill and die, not to mention the spending of hundreds of billions of dollars. As such, at least some amount of actual proof is due the people. Responsible public personalities should act as our voice and make reasonable demands of those in power. Instead, Rush Limbaugh provided a fat blanket of cover for the administration, suggesting those who questioned the war were "unpatriotic and only acting out partisan objectives. Rush Limbaugh has a "big voice" and could act in the interest of his listeners. Rush could start by asking for proof to buttress these statements made by Bush and members of his administration.... "There is already a mountain of evidence that Saddam Hussein is gathering weapons for the purpose of using them. And adding additional information is like adding a foot to Mount Everest." Ari Fleischer, Press Secretary Response to Question From Press 9/6/2002 "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud" Condoleeza Rice, CNN Late Edition 9/8/2002 "Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons." George W. Bush, Speech to UN General Assembly 9/12/2002 "Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons. We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have." George W. Bush, Radio Address 10/5/2002 "The Iraqi regime . . . possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas." George W. Bush, Cincinnati, Ohio Speech 10/7/2002 "We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas." George W. Bush, Cincinnati, Ohio Speech 10/7/2002 "Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent." George W. Bush, State of the Union Address 1/28/2003 There was nothing ambiguous about these statements. They did not refer to "programs" and instead, to specific and terrifying quantities of actual weapons, the capability and intent to use them. This rhetoric was voiced before the invasion of Iraq. Now that Sadam is gone, most of his immediate staff has been taken into custody and his government no longer occupies the government buildings, communication stations and military facilities, the administration should be able and eager to hold up at least a sample of what it is they based these statements upon. Americans are dying in Iraq on a regular basis, billions of dollars are being taken from our pockets and sent to Iraq for the biggest nation building effort since the Marshall plan and we have suffered a huge loss of prestige in the world community. The people being provided at least some sort of proof is way overdue. It is time for Rush Limbaugh to stop insulting his listeners with spin and accusatory language which holds that anyone who questions the administration is unpatriotic. It is time for Rush Limbaugh to act in the interest of his listeners and show some patriotism himself through aksing for proof of these statements.