Carville was joined by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, who seemed encouraged by a survey he had just completed that revealed public misgivings about the newly minted president.

“We rush into these focus groups with these doubts that people have about him, and I’m wanting them to turn against him,” Greenberg admitted.

The pollster added with a chuckle of disbelief: “They don’t want him to fail. I mean, they think it matters if the president of the United States fails.”

Minutes later, as news of the terrorist attacks reached the hotel conference room where the Democrats were having breakfast with the reporters, Carville announced: “Disregard everything we just said! This changes everything!”

Call it “gotcha journalism,” but author Bill Sammon does have a point here.  James Carville, the legendary Democratic strategist, alongside Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg openly stated they hoped the president would “fail”.  The idea in the world of Murdoch appears to be that this somehow washes radio host Rush Limbaugh clean after his recent and repeated comments that he hopes President Obama fails.

Rush has backpedaled a bit since his initial statements and is now repeating a more acceptable version, “I hope his policies fail.”  If we are to allow Limbaugh this clarification, we can allow it to Carville as well.

Limbaugh comments on the report:

“I deal in principles, not polls. Carville and people like him live and breathe political exploitation. This is all a game to them. It’s not a game to me. I am concerned about the well-being and survival of our nation. When has Carville ever advocated anything that would benefit the country at the expense of his party?”

Let’s be honest here.  Both Carville and Limbaugh passionately advocate their political worldview, and both were coming from the same place in wanting a president who subscribed to the opposing ideology to “fail” because they want the well-being and survival of our nation.

But there’s still a big difference, besides the fact that Carville is out there working for political campaigns while Limbaugh complains from a leather chair behind a golden microphone.  Carville, no matter how nasty his statements may have been, had the wisdom and the patriotism to immediately proclaim “I don’t mean that. Whatever I said disregard it. It’s inoperative,” when he learned of the attacks.  He knew that ideology and political affiliation meant nothing in the face of such a crisis.  The Chicago Tribune has more details on Carville’s response today.

I know of no one – Democratic, Republican or independent – who wanted Bush to fail in the wake of 9/11.  We all supported the president as our nation’s heroes picked through the rubble, and well into the months and years that followed, as did most of our international neighbors.  George W. Bush had the support and trust of nearly the entire world after those cowardly attacks… it’s not our fault that he squandered it all in the remainder of his presidency.

Many on the  far right, however, have not shown the kind of support for our president during the current crises that was afforded to Bush early on.  The litany of epithets and anger has not ceased or even slown down in the aftermath of a tense election as it usually does.  There are repeated cries of “socialist,” warnings of the downfall of the republic, conspiracy theories about Obama’s supposed ineligibility to be president, and deluded talk of impeachment in the face of a 72% approval rating – all while the nation is facing its most dire circumstances in decades.

It’s been implied or half-stated now by the wiser pundits and politicians from the right, left and center, and I’ll say it here today; if you want the president – and our nation by extension – to fail; you are foolish, unpatriotic and too small to see beyond your sad little reality-tunnel.  That goes for James Carville as much as it goes for Rush Limbaugh – and it goes for you, America.