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(CNN) - Rush Limbaugh brought his popular vitriol to national television Sunday, calling President Barack Obama unqualified and questioning if Obama and other Democrats care about the nation's well-being.

In a rare television interview, on the "FOX News Sunday" program, the conservative talk radio superstar declared himself worried about America's future under Obama and said he wondered if the president and the Democratic Party wanted to hurt - rather than help - the country.

"We've never seen this kind of radical leadership at such a high level of power in the in the country," Limbaugh said. "I believe that the economy is under siege, is being destroyed. Anybody with any economic literacy would not do one thing this administration's done to try to revitalize the private sector. They're destroying it.

"… And I have to think that it may be on purpose, because this is just outrageous, what is happening - a denial of liberty, an attack on freedom."

In other comments, Limbaugh called Obama "immature," "a child," "narcissistic" and "over his head." He called Obama's pre-dawn trip to Dover Air Force Base last week to view the dignified transfer of war dead from Afghanistan a "photo op."

Asked to respond, Obama's senior adviser, David Axelrod, called Limbaugh an entertainer.
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Reverend Al Sharpton is threatening a defamation lawsuit against Rush Limbaugh.

WASHINGTON (CNN)– Reverend Al Sharpton and his lawyers say they are preparing to file a defamation lawsuit against conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh for an op-ed published Saturday, which Sharpton alleges "erroneously" characterizes his (Sharpton's) role in a string of violent incidents in New York in the early 90's.

In the op-ed published in Saturday's Wall Street Journal Limbaugh writes Sharpton "played a leading role in the 1991 Crown Heights riot (he called neighborhood Jews ‘diamond merchants’) and 1995 Freddie's Fashion Mart riot."

The Crown Heights riot began after a Hasidic Rabbi accidently struck and killed an African American boy with his car. The boy died from the injuries–sparking four nights of riots. The Rabbi was not charged, but Sharpton played a large role in rallying on behalf of the young boy’s family and the African American community.

According to a statement put out by Sharpton’s media consultant, a study New York Governor Mario Cuomo commissioned showed Sharpton was not involved in the Crown Heights incident until after the rioting concluded.

"Mr. Limbaugh's blatant and defamatory statements regarding the Crown Heights Riots falsely give the impression that Rev. Sharpton was present during the violence that occurred when in reality he had been called in by the family after the violence," Sharpton’s statement says.

"In terms of Freddie's Fashion Mart, Rev. Al Sharpton, along with local elected officials supported the protests. However, a lone gunman who disagreed with the nonviolent nature of the protests entered the store and killed seven people and himself… For Mr. Limbaugh to imply that Rev. Sharpton has anything to do with someone that killed people and himself is blatantly wrong," the statement continues.

Limbaugh’s attempt to invest in the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams franchise was overshadowed by a controversy over his “racial views,” which Limbaugh says were false. In the op-ed, he also lashes out at several media outlets, including CNN and “the sports writer community,” for what he calls "contempt in the news business."

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Limbaugh is out of the group seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams.

(CNN) – The group of investors seeking to purchase the NFL's St. Louis Rams is dumping Rush Limbaugh from their effort after NFL executives, players and political leaders raised objections to the controversial talk show host's involvement in the bid.

Sports media executive Dave Checketts, who is leading the group, announced the decision in a statement issued Wednesday by his office.

"Rush was to be a limited partner - as such, he would have had no say in the direction of the club or in any decisions regarding personnel or operations," the statement said. "This was a role he enthusiastically embraced."

"However, it has become clear that his involvement in our group has become a complication and a distraction to our intentions; endangering our bid to keep the team in St. Louis. As such, we have decided to move forward without him and hope it will eventually lead us to a successful conclusion."

Related video: Analysts sound off on Limbaugh and the NFL

Limbaugh would gladly meet Obama at the White House, the conservative talk radio host said.

(CNN) - Rush Limbaugh says he'd gladly sit down for a conversation with President Obama if the controversial talk-radio host ever scored an invite to the White House.

"Absolutely," Limbaugh, among the president's fiercest critics, told NBC when asked if he'd be willing to speak with Obama. "I'd be honest with him. The President of the United States is the President of the United States. I want this country to succeed, and if he invited me up there to chat, I would owe him up the dignity of being honest."

The comments aired on NBC's Today Show in the second part of an interview that first ran Monday.

Limbaugh was also asked to play word association when the interviewer named the following political figures:

President Obama: "Disaster"

Michelle Obama: "Garden"

Jimmy Carter: "An utter disgrace and embarrassment."

Sarah Palin: "Misunderstood and underestimated. I admire her. People have tried to destroy her. She has more backbone than any man in the Democrat Party."

George W. Bush: "He's just the most decent, down to earth, real man you could ever hope to meet."

Hillary Clinton: "Nurse ratchet"

Limbaugh told an interviewer the media couldn't 'break' him.

(CNN) – Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is dismissing Democratic campaigns to paint him as the man steering the Republican Party, and media frenzies over his most controversial comments.

"The media didn't make me, and they can't break me," he said in a portion of an NBC interview that aired Monday.

"I am not the leader of the Republican Party. Don't want to be the leader of the Republican Party," said Limbaugh. "It's silly for them to keep talking about how I'm the leader of anything, it's just creating more curiosity about me. It's 21 years, more popular than ever. Lord, thank you for my enemies."

In interview excerpts released by the network, Limbaugh said he had been moved by the election of the nation's first black president - "but I got over it pretty quickly."

Obama's election has heightened racial discord, he said. "I predicted to you it was going to exacerbate racial problems, and it has," said Limbaugh. "There's a race industry in the country. They make money off it. They have fame and fortune off of it. And I predicted exactly what's happened.

"Any criticism of President Obama is going to be said to be oriented in racism. And if you don't like his health care bill, it's racist. If you don't like his cap and trade, it's racist."

Limbaugh also said grateful for the prescription drug addiction that forced him into treatment six years ago.

"I actually thank God for my addiction," he said. "I learned more about myself in rehab than I would have ever learned otherwise."

Follow Rebecca Sinderbrand on Twitter: @sinderbrandrcnn

Limbaugh told an interviewer the media couldn't 'break' him.

(CNN) – Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is dismissing Democratic campaigns to paint him as the man steering the Republican Party, and media frenzies over his most controversial comments.

"The media didn't make me, and they can't break me," he said in a portion of an NBC interview that aired Monday.

"I am not the leader of the Republican Party. Don't want to be the leader of the Republican Party," said Limbaugh. "It's silly for them to keep talking about how I'm the leader of anything, it's just creating more curiosity about me. It's 21 years, more popular than ever. Lord, thank you for my enemies."

In interview excerpts released by the network, Limbaugh said he had been moved by the election of the nation's first black president - "but I got over it pretty quickly."

Obama's election has heightened racial discord, he said. "I predicted to you it was going to exacerbate racial problems, and it has," said Limbaugh. "There's a race industry in the country. They make money off it. They have fame and fortune off of it. And I predicted exactly what's happened.

"Any criticism of President Obama is going to be said to be oriented in racism. And if you don't like his health care bill, it's racist. If you don't like his cap and trade, it's racist."

Limbaugh also said grateful for the prescription drug addiction that forced him into treatment six years ago.

"I actually thank God for my addiction," he said. "I learned more about myself in rehab than I would have ever learned otherwise."

Follow Rebecca Sinderbrand on Twitter: @sinderbrandrcnn

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said he has been subject to racial profiling.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Tuesday that he has been the victim of racial profiling but believes Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. could have been more patient with the police officer who arrested him.

At the same time, Powell also faulted the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Police Department for escalating the situation beyond a reasonable level.

"I think Skip [Gates], perhaps in this instance, might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer and that might have been the end of it," Powell said in an interview with CNN's Larry King. "I think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal.

"I think in this case the situation was made much more difficult on the part of the Cambridge Police Department," Powell said. "Once they felt they had to bring Dr. Gates out of the house and to handcuff him, I would've thought at that point, some adult supervision would have stepped in and said 'OK look, it is his house. Let's not take this any further, take the handcuffs off, good night Dr. Gates.'"

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Limbaugh could support Sotomayor, but said he still thinks she is a racist.

(CNN) - A week after calling Sonia Sotomayor a "racist" in reference to her 2001 "wise Latina" remarks, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday he's now open to supporting President Obama's Supreme Court nominee.

"I can see a possibility of supporting this nomination if I can be convinced that she does have a sensibility toward life in a legal sense," Limbaugh said on his radio program.

Limbaugh's statement comes the same day former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who himself derided Sotomayor as a "racist" last week, wrote in an op-ed that he regretted his choice of words.

On his show Wednesday, Limbaugh said his potential support of Sotomayor stems from the nominee's unclear stance on abortion coupled with the fact that she is a Catholic.
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Limbaugh could support Sotomayor, but said he still thinks she is a racist.

(CNN) - A week after calling Sonia Sotomayor a "racist" in reference to her 2001 "wise Latina" remarks, conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday he's now open to supporting President Obama's Supreme Court nominee.

"I can see a possibility of supporting this nomination if I can be convinced that she does have a sensibility toward life in a legal sense," Limbaugh said on his radio program.

Limbaugh's statement comes the same day former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who himself derided Sotomayor as a "racist" last week, wrote in an op-ed that he regretted his choice of words.

On his show Wednesday, Limbaugh said his potential support of Sotomayor stems from the nominee's unclear stance on abortion coupled with the fact that she is a Catholic.

"I don't know that it will ever happen, but if you know, the opportunity to get somebody like her, she's a Catholic, she's a devout Catholic, she's a Hispanic Catholic, Puerto Rican, they tend to be devout, she hasn't got a record on this. Normally liberals do have a record," Limbaugh said.

But, unlike Gingrich, the conservative talker did not back away from his contention Sotomayor is a racist.

I didn't know why he retracted it," Limabaugh said of Gingrich. "What is it? It's racism, reverse racism, whatever, but it's still racism, and she would bring a form of racism and bigotry to the court. But as I said yesterday, folks, I'm - I'm - I may look past that.

Meanwhile, Obama officials have said the president has not directly asked Sotomayor how she might rule in abortion rights cases, but California Democrat Dianne Feinstein - who met with Sotomayor Tuesday - said that the judge believes strongly in legal precedent.

"I believe she has a real respect for precedent and … if that is really true then I will agree with her, and I believe it is," said Feinstein, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele said Friday that the GOP should recognize the 'historic aspect' of Sonia Sotomayor's nomination.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele suggested Friday that Republicans hold off on "slammin' and rammin'" Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor and instead recognize the "historic aspect" of her nomination.

While guest hosting the Bill Bennett radio show on Friday morning, Steele said he was "excited" to see a Hispanic woman in this position.

"The trap here for the GOP I think is enormous," Steele said. "And I know that a lot of folks want to do the knee jerk you know let's start slammin' and rammin', but I think we really need to take a step back from this and deal with two things, one, the historic aspect of it, acknowledge it, but then move on to the substance of the conversation about what this woman believes."

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Cornyn on Thursday said statements calling Sotomayor a racist are 'terrible.'

(CNN) - A top Senate Republican is taking aim at recent statements from conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich suggesting Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is a "racist."

"I think it's terrible," Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told NPR's "All Things Considered" Thursday. "This is not the kind of tone any of us want to set when it comes to performing our constitutional responsibilities of advise and consent.”

Both the popular radio host and former GOP House Speaker have suggested Obama's pick for the high court is a racist while referencing a 2001 speech at Berkeley during which Sotomayor said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman, with the richness of her experiences, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Related: In her own words: Sotomayor's 'Latina' speech

"Imagine a judicial nominee said 'my experience as a white man makes me better than a latina woman.' new racism is no better than old racism," Gingrich wrote on Twitter Wednesday.

"Here you have a racist – you might want to soften that, and you might want to say a reverse racist," Limbaugh said the day before on his radio program.

Senate Republicans meanwhile have largely withheld judgment on Sotomayor, though many - including Cornyn - have taken issue with some of her past statements and rulings.

"We are all a product of our upbringing and who we are and I think it’s a fact people do have different backgrounds, but I don't think those background ought to determine what the law is," Cornyn said to NPR of Sotomayor's Berkeley comments.

The NRSC chief also brushed off the Limbaugh and Gingrich statements while noting neither man holds an elected office.

"Neither one of these men are elected Republican officials. I just don't think it’s appropriate. I certainly don't endorse it. I think it’s wrong," he said.

Cornyn on Thursday said statements calling Sotomayor a racist are 'terrible.'

(CNN) - A top Senate Republican is taking aim at recent statements from conservative commentators Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich suggesting Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is a "racist."

"I think it's terrible," Sen. John Cornyn, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told NPR's "All Things Considered" Thursday. "This is not the kind of tone any of us want to set when it comes to performing our constitutional responsibilities of advise and consent.”

Both the popular radio host and former GOP House Speaker have suggested Obama's pick for the high court is  a racist while referencing a 2001 speech at Berkeley during which Sotomayor said, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman, with the richness of her experiences, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Related: In her own words: Sotomayor's 'Latina' speech

"Imagine a judicial nominee said 'my experience as a white man makes me better than a latina woman.' new racism is no better than old racism," Gingrich wrote on Twitter Wednesday.

"Here you have a racist – you might want to soften that, and you might want to say a reverse racist," Limbaugh said the day before on his radio program.

Senate Republicans meanwhile have largely withheld judgment on Sotomayor, though many - including Cornyn - have taken issue with some of her past statements and rulings.

"We are all a product of our upbringing and who we are and I think it’s a fact people do have different backgrounds, but I don't think those background ought to determine what the law is," Cornyn said to NPR of Sotomayor's Berkeley comments.

The NRSC chief also brushed off the Limbaugh and Gingrich statements while noting neither man holds an elected office.

"Neither one of these men are elected Republican officials. I just don't think it’s appropriate. I certainly don't endorse it. I think it’s wrong," he said.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court justice if confirmed.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican Party risks further alienation from Hispanics by challenging the nomination of Sonia Sotomayer, who would become the first Hispanic, and third woman, on the Supreme Court.

On Tuesday, President Obama nominated 54-year-old Sotomayor - who is of Puerto Rican descent - to replace the retiring Justice David Souter.

Sotomayer is a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, named to that post by President Bill Clinton when she was a U.S. District Court judge, nominated by President George H.W. Bush in 1992.

The barbed comments about Sotomayer began almost as soon as the announcement was made at the White House on Tuesday.

Conservative radio personality Rush Limbaugh called Sotomayor a "reverse racist" on his show. Limbaugh, who is known for stirring up controversy, said he hopes Obama's nominee fails.

"Do I want her to fail? Yeah. Do I want her to fail to get on the court? Yes. She'd be a disaster on the court," he said. "Do I still want to Obama to fail as president? Yeah. ... He's going to fail anyway, but the sooner the better here so that as little damage can be done to the country."

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Limbaugh is going after Sonia Sotomayor.

(CNN) - While Republicans on Capitol Hill appear to be adopting a wait-and-see approach with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh is taking direct aim at President Obama's choice for the high court.

Calling Sotomayor a "racist" and a "hack" on his radio show Tuesday, Limbaugh took particular issue with a 2001 speech at Berkeley during which she stated a "wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

"Here you have a racist – you might want to soften that, and you might want to say a reverse racist," Limbaugh said of that comment.

"And the [liberals] of course say that minorities cannot be racists because they don't have the power to implement their racism," he continued. "Well, those days are gone because reverse racists certainly do have the power to implement their power. Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist, and now he's appointed one."

"She's not the brain that they're portraying her to be. She's not a constitutional jurist," Limbaugh also said, referencing a New Republic article last month in which Jeffrey Rosen, the magazines legal affairs editor, wrote that "her opinions, although competent, are viewed by former prosecutors as not especially clean or tight, and sometimes miss the forest for the trees."

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Limbaugh is going after Sonia Sotomayor.

(CNN) - While Republicans on Capitol Hill appear to be adopting a wait-and-see approach with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh is taking direct aim at President Obama's choice for the high court.

Calling Sotomayor a "racist" and a "hack" on his radio show Tuesday, Limbaugh took particular issue with a 2001 speech at Berkeley during which she stated a "wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

"Here you have a racist – you might want to soften that, and you might want to say a reverse racist," Limbaugh said of that comment.

"And the [liberals] of course say that minorities cannot be racists because they don't have the power to implement their racism," he continued. "Well, those days are gone because reverse racists certainly do have the power to implement their power. Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist, and now he's appointed one."

"She's not the brain that they're portraying her to be. She's not a constitutional jurist," Limbaugh also said, referencing a New Republic article last month in which Jeffrey Rosen, the magazines legal affairs editor, wrote that "her opinions, although competent, are viewed by former prosecutors as not especially clean or tight, and sometimes miss the forest for the trees."

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – As Colin Powell fires back against Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh in the latest skirmish in the battle over the future of the Republican Party, a new national poll indicates that Americans have a much more favorable opinion of Powell than Cheney or Limbaugh.

The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, released Monday, suggests that 70 percent have a favorable opinion of Powell, who was Secretary of State during President George W. Bush's first term, and who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Persian Gulf War.

Only 30 percent of those polled have a favorable view of Limbaugh, the popular conservative radio talk show host, with 53 percent saying they hold an unfavorable opinion.

In poll numbers released Thursday, 37 percent say they have a favorable opinion of Dick Cheney, with 55 percent indicating they hold an unfavorable view of the former vice president.

Among Republicans, it's a different story. The poll suggests that 66 percent of Republicans have a favorable view of Cheney, 64 percent give Powell a thumbs up, and 62 view Limbaugh in a favorable way.

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(CNN) - Pennsylvania Republican Tom Ridge is taking direct aim at Rush Limbaugh, telling CNN's John King the conservative talk radio host can be "shrill" and uses language in a way "that offend very many."

"Rush Limbaugh has an audience of 20 million people. A lot of people listen daily to him and live by every word. But words mean things and how you use words is very important," Ridge, the former Homeland Security Secretary under President Bush, said during an interview airing Sunday on CNN's State of The Union.

"It does get the base all fired up and he's got a strong following," Ridge continued. "But personally, if he would listen to me and I doubt if he would, the notion is express yourself but let's respect others opinions and let's not be divisive."

The comments come in the wake of a war of words between Limbaugh and Colin Powell, during which the former secretary of state suggested the GOP's future was in peril if it went in the direction of the popular radio talker. Limbaugh quickly hit back, proclaiming Powell is part of the "stale, the old, the worn-out GOP that never won anything."

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Rush Limbaugh criticized Colin Powell as being part of the 'stale, the old, the worn-out GOP.'

(CNN) - Colin Powell and Rush Limbaugh escalated their war of words on Wednesday, with the talk radio host calling the former Secretary of State part of the "stale, the old, the worn-out GOP that never won anything."

The comments came hours after Powell fired back at Limbaugh and former Vice President Dick Cheney over recent remarks questioning his GOP credentials.

"Rush Limbaugh says, 'get out of the Republican Party.' Dick Cheney says, 'he's already out,'" Powell said at a Tuesday night event in Boston, according to the Boston Globe. "I may be out of their version of the Republican Party, but there's another version of the Republican Party waiting to emerge once again."

Powell drew ire from many in the GOP for his decision to endorse President Obama's candidacy, and said earlier this month that the party would be better off without Limbaugh.

On his show Wednesday, Limbaugh mocked Powell's comments. "And now there's an agenda, an emerging agenda, that he's waiting for for the Republican Party?" said the radio host. "The only thing emerging here is Colin Powell's ego. Colin Powell represents the stale, the old, the worn-out GOP that never won anything."

Limbaugh, who has been called the de facto leader of the Republican Party by leading Democrats, also said that he is resigning from the position.

"I am resigning as the titular head of the Republican Party," Limbaugh said. "Clearly I am not the titular head of the Republican Party, it's not an office I sought, it was an office position that rather was ladled onto me, and one I was appointed without by acquiescence."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has joined the National Council for a New America.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has signed on to the latest high-profile effort to re-brand the Republican Party - but don't expect to see him take a major leadership role for the National Council for a New America, or make a starring appearance at any of the events on the group's national tour.

Organizers of the effort, spearheaded by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, originally told reporters that Gingrich had not been included in the newly-launched group because his 527, American Solutions, was a partisan entity. (The organization describes itself as a "tri-partisan" network.)

Gingrich supporters dismissed that explanation, pointing out that Mitt Romney - a member of the NCNA's panel of experts - headed the explicitly partisan Free and Strong America PAC, which donates to GOP candidates.

(updated after the jump with Cantor camp response)

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