White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said that he considers Rush Limbaugh to be the "voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party" on Sunday.
Emanuel said on CBS's "Face The Nation" that he lauded the right wing talk show host for being honest about his desire for Obama to fail but that it is the wrong philosophy for America.
"He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican party," Rahm said. "He has been up front about what he views and hasn't stepped back from that, which is he hopes for failure."
Rahm's response comes on the heels of Limbaugh's renewed criticism of the new administration on Saturday night, when he reiterated his hope for Obama's failure to an audience at the Conservative Political Action Convention.
Limbaugh said conservatives ought to fight the "bastardization of the Constitution that the Obama plans are."
Democrats "hoped George Bush failed," Limbaugh said. "So what is so strange about saying I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to reconstruct and reform this nation so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation?" he said.
Limbaugh said Obama was "not a unifier and not bipartisan" in late January after the commander in chief told GOP leaders to quit listening to his radio rants.
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"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," Obama said in January.
