Limbaugh, Alexrod trade jabs

WASHINGTON - From his home and on a friendly network, Rush Limbaugh lobbed pot shots across the airwaves yesterday at President Obama - "immature, inexperienced, in over his head," offering the country "radical leadership" and laying siege to the economy.

"We'll let Mr. Limbaugh foment," responded the White House's chief political strategist, dismissing the conservative commentator with the reported $400 million contract as no more than an entertainer and not really the right guy to give "lectures on humility."

The banter began on the hourlong Fox News Sunday, Limbaugh the lone guest, interviewed from his home in Palm Beach, Fla., on a network the Obama administration has labeled as the voice of the far-right wing of the Republican Party. Obama adviser David Axelrod swung away later in the morning from Chicago on CBS's Face the Nation.

One question in, Limbaugh said that his country had "never seen this kind of radical leadership at such a high level of power," that "I have to think" the administration is bent on destroying the private sector on purpose, amounting to "a denial of liberty, an attack on freedom."

"I think he's got an out-of-this-world ego. He's very narcissistic. And he's able to focus all attention on him all the time," Limbaugh said.

Axelrod, one of two guests on the 30-minute CBS broadcast, weighed in with cutting comments of his own.

"I think it's a surreal day when you're getting lectures on humility from Rush Limbaugh. . . . The fact is that he is an entertainer. The president has to run the country," Axelrod said. "We walked into a difficult situation. I think he's handling it very, very well. And most people believe that."