Via The Telegraph: President Obama has told Republicans in Washington to stop listening to the right-wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh, risking a new culture war with conservative voters.

After less than a week in office, Mr Obama’s presidency is already encountering the very partisan bickering he had pledged to stamp out during his first 100 days.

He faces mounting criticism over his $825 billion economic stimulus plan, from Republican leaders who say the legislation has been drawn up without the input which Mr Obama had promised to allow them.

The president responded with a clear signal that he is prepared to ram the bill through without the bipartisan consensus he promised to construct, telling Republican leaders from the House of Representatives: “I won. I’m the president.”

Then:

He then told them to break free of the confrontational mindset epitomised by Mr Limbaugh, the highest paid talk show host in America. “You can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done,” Mr Obama said. (True!)

His comments followed a blunt attack on him by Mr Limbaugh, who declared on air that he hoped Mr Obama would fail as president because otherwise it will usher in socialism.

With characteristic robustness, Limbaugh said: “We are being told we have to hope he succeeds, that we have to bend over[...]because his father was black, because he’s the first black president, we’ve got to accept this.”

The president has also reacted badly to his first taste of tougher questioning from the previously supine Washington press corps – becoming visibly irritated, during a visit to journalists’ offices in the White House, when asked a substantive question about the ethics affair.

The White House’s failure to arrange for television cameras to record Mr Obama’s second swearing in, held on Wednesday night because he and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts botched the wording at his inauguration, infuriated broadcasters.

A Democratic strategist who has run two presidential campaigns told The Sunday Telegraph: “What can I say? ‘Welcome to Washington, Mr President’.

But my favorite part is:

“The Obama people like a scrap, they’ve proved that throughout the year, none more than the president. But they know they’re in a fight now. And it probably won’t let up for eight years.”

… and it might not let up for FOUR years. Remember that the number four comes before eight? What if Obama only makes four years? Is the position and/or duration of Presidential duties already decided in advance?

Barack Obama picks a fight with Rush Limbaugh as bipartisan spirit crumbles – Telegraph.