Limbaugh to CPAC: 'Take Country Back'

Rush Limbaugh thrilled an overflow crowd of conservatives in Washington, DC, tonight by urging them to "take this country back. All we need is to nominate the right candidate." Following speeches by Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, and Ann Coulter at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Limbaugh surprised attendees by praising President Obama, but attacked the "rampant government growth" of his stimulus plan, Fox News reports.

Obama is "one of the most gifted politicians," Limbaugh said. "It just breaks my heart" that he doesn't "inspire the American people." Defending his earlier remark that he hoped Obama would fail, he said many Democrats hoped the Iraq war would too, the Huffington Post reports. "So what is so strange about being honest and saying I want Barack Obama to fail," said Limbaugh, drawing cheers from the crowd. (More Rush Limbaugh stories.)