By Tom Allison

“Obama is essentially a third-world presidency”

Humble as ever, Rush opened today's show by commenting that "[a]ll eyes and all ears are on this show today" and declaring that “Obama is essentially a third-world presidency.”

It was a packed first hour. Rush read from this Hot Air blog post that picked up on an Army Times article on U.S. military relief forces not flying the U.S. flag in Haiti to avoid appearing like an occupation force. Then he said that “Greece is a look at our own future” and claimed that President Obama “couldn't care less” about a nuclear Iran.

Rush moved on to distort the self-executing rule that the House is considering using to pass health care reform. He called the rule “unconstitutional” and mischaracterized it as “passing a bill without voting on it.” While he went on to note that Republicans have used the rule as well, Rush falsely claimed that it was only used to raise the debt ceiling. He then theorized that bringing up the rule was all part of a plot to lay the blame for health care's failure on Majority Leader Harry Reid.

LIMBAUGH: Before this is all said and done, it could be the Senate that has to now deal with whatever the House has done. And what if they don't? What if they don't pass it? Then who gets the blame? Reid. Then it's on Reid's head that the thing didn't happen. And then it's on Obama's head because -- it's not Pelosi. Because Pelosi can say, “Hey, I did whatever it took to get this passed.” There is so much intrigue going on with this, and it's all based around the fact they don't have the votes.

Rush added that “it's all designed to dispirit ... and create a false sense of momentum towards passage” and that Reid and Nancy Pelosi are “suicidal on health care.”

Reading from a Bloomberg article on government estimates that the unemployment rate wouldn't fall below 9.7 percent for February, Limbaugh interpreted the administration's message as: “Get used to it.”

Stipulating that the Democrats are desperate to pass health care not as good policy, but to save Obama's presidency, Rush said that the same thing happens in Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea.

Rush brags about listeners shutting down Capitol switchboard

After a break, Rush told a lengthy story explaining why he doesn't urge his listeners to call their representatives in Washington -- because the one time he did, his audience shut down the phone systems. Without skipping a beat, Rush then read the two toll-free numbers for the Capitol switchboard. At the end of the show, Rush bragged that the switchboard had shut down.

Closing out the first hour, Rush promoted today's Code Red rally against health care reform, urging his listeners to contact representatives who are reportedly undecided on health care reform.

Rush predicts Obama's Final Four picks are “doomed”

Rush invoked former Pennsylvania Rep. Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky's deciding vote for Bill Clinton's 1993 budget as an example of the danger that Democrats face in voting for health care reform. He could have stopped there but went on to suggest that Mezvinsky actually traded her vote so that her son could marry Clinton's daughter, Chelsea.

From there, Limbaugh said that anything Obama touches loses, whether it's health care reform or the U.S. men's Olympic team. Rush predicted that whatever teams Obama chooses for the Final Four in the NCAA men's basketball tournament would be “doomed.” (Obama correctly picked North Carolina to win the NCAA title last year.)

Rush claims purpose of immigration reform is to find “replacement voters”

Rush's first caller brought up a USA Today article on the Federal Communications Commission expanding access across the country to high-speed Internet. Limbaugh then erroneously claimed that “net neutrality is the Fairness Doctrine of the Internet” and repeatedly made the false claim that the government is trying to control the content of the Internet, while at the same time suggesting that a conspiracy between Google and the White House was behind it. In fact, the purpose of net neutrality is to restrict Internet service providers from controlling content.

Rush's second caller said that he watched Obama's rally on C-SPAN yesterday and stated that the person who allegedly fainted was actually restrained by police officers. Later in the show, Rush stated as fact that “the fainter didn't faint” and that “we think that someone yelled 'How dare you' because nobody fainted.”

After a break, Rush read from this New York Times article on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's proposed budget cuts, suggesting that the Times was trying to influence its readers to oppose Christie's plans.

Moving on to comprehensive immigration reform, Rush suggested that Obama has begun proposing “amnesty” to make up for lost votes from the 2008 election:

LIMBAUGH: The Obama of the campaign will never be again. That Obama will never be. But he's still gonna need to get re-elected if he wants to. How does he do it? He's gotta find replacement voters. Bammo, here comes amnesty being discussed, right on the heels of this. Make no mistake, however this turns out, there's no let-up. None, whatsoever.

Rush moved on to criticizing those who question the appropriateness of the political advocacy of Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who has founded of her own tea party organization. Closing today's show, Rush suggested that the only thing that makes “Barack Hussein Obama” angry is when “the Jews build 1,600 homes.”

Kitty Kaletsky contributed to this edition of the Limbaugh Wire.