Rush Limbaugh was booked Friday at Palm Beach County Jail on prescription drug charges and released an hour later after posting $3,000 bail, according to the Associated Press. Police obtained a warrant for fraud to conceal information to obtain prescriptions. Limbaugh's drug problems are old news -- but they've never kept his old friends in the Bush administration from stopping by the studio. Apparently Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and Vice President Cheney aren't fazed by Limbaugh's rap sheet; over the last four years they've used him to bring Bush politics to the people at several key junctures. Here are some of their greatest hits:
April 17, 2006. Rumsfeld appeared amid calls for his resignation from half a dozen retired Army generals. When asked about the mounting controversy, he said, "Well, you know, this too will pass. I think about it, and I must say, there's always two sides to these things, and the sharper the criticism comes, sometimes the sharper the defense comes from people who don't agree with the critics." (The sharp criticism had not yet passed.)
Feb. 1, 2006. Cheney appeared following the president's State of the Union address. When asked about the situation in Iraq, Cheney said, "It's a difficult challenge without question, but it's absolutely one of those conflicts that we can win. The only way we're going to lose this is if we quit, and there's no quit in this administration."
Dec. 16, 2005. Rumsfeld appeared praising the recent Iraqi elections as a success. In response to recent criticism of the war, he said, "I guess the balance that one has to have is to recognize that throughout history we've seen this kind of debate and controversy, but that in those instances where we've stuck to the course and fulfilled our conviction, that this country has benefited."
Oct. 3, 2005. Taking to the airwaves in support of the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, Cheney said, "I'm confident that she has a conservative judicial philosophy that you would be comfortable with, Rush." Limbaugh suggested that Democrats "are all losing it," adding, "That's why people think they are ripe to be buried, Mr. Vice President." In response, Cheney said, "Well, we're working on it. You'll be proud of Harriet's record, Rush. Trust me."
March 22, 2004. Cheney rebuked claims made by Richard Clarke that President Bush did not adequately deal with the threat posed by al-Qaida before Sept. 11, 2001. Cheney also denied claims that the Bush administration had plans to attack Iraq before the attacks on the World Trade Center.
May 16, 2002. Rumsfeld dismissed a CBS report claiming that the president received ample warning of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Rumsfeld also said that Iraq "has some types of weapons of mass destruction." When asked whether the U.S. would be capable of invading Iraq, if it were deemed necessary, Rumsfeld said, "I don't think that's the kind of a question the secretary of defense should answer. Those are the decisions that are taken above my pay grade."
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