"I hope he fails."

[GoodTaste]

What is the definition of "fail" here? The clarity of it is apparently questionable otherwise Limbaugh didn't need to clarify.

I checked out dictionaries and found only one that is close: Become weak. Not sure whether I've got the right definition.

======================

On January 16, 2009, Limbaugh commented on the then-upcoming Obama presidency, "I hope he fails."[124] Limbaugh later said that he wants to see Obama's policies fail, not the man himself.[125] Speaking of Obama, Limbaugh said, "He's my president, he's a human being, and his ideas and policies are what count for me."[124] Limbaugh later discouraged efforts to impeach Barack Obama as politically unrealistic.[126]

Source: Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_L...h#Donald_Trump

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

You can look up fail.

The opposite of fail is succeed. He later clarified that he didn't want Obama's health to fail. He just didn't want Obama to succeed as president.

 

[GoodTaste]

You can look up fail.

The opposite of fail is succeed. He later clarified that he didn't want Obama's health to fail. He just didn't want Obama to succeed as president.

I did understand it as the opposite of succeed. But if so, the problem is that Limbaugh didn't need to clarify at all. Because it is common sense that when two presidential candidates vie, one of them must fail no matter what.

 

[SoothingDave]

The comment was made after Obama won the election.

Obama promised to "fundamentally transform" America. Limbaugh, like other conservatives, opposed Obama's policies.


Of course they wanted him to fail in his quest to change America according to his leftist vision.


Much was made of Limbaugh's comments by leftists and the media (but I repeat myself), skewing it as if he wished for America to fail.


That was distortion of what he said and meant. That is how the media operates. That's what you're reading in Wikipedia.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I did understand it as the opposite of succeed. But if so, the problem is that Limbaugh didn't need to clarify at all. Because it is common sense that when two presidential candidates vie, one of them must fail no matter what.

He did need to clarify it. He's famous for his harsh comments, so lots of people gave the remark a crueler meaning than he had meant.

That doesn't change the meaning of fail: fail

 

[SoothingDave]

He needed to clarify because the media distorts uncharitably.