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Democrats are using Rush Limbaugh to raise money. AP Photo by Ron Edmonds

A number of Democratic candidates and committees are using the controversial remarks made by conservative-talk radio host Rush Limbaugh about President Obama to raise money and recruit volunteers to their causes.

In an email sent to supporters late Thursday and entitled "Kowtow," Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee executive director J.B Poersch writes, "when Rush says jump, congressional Republicans say how high?" and urges recipients to sign a petition condemning Limbaugh's behavior and calling on Senate GOPers to "declare their independence" from him.

A similar missive came out of the Democratic Governors Association as well. "Did you hear what Rush said?" writes DGA executive director Nathan Daschle, adding that Limbaugh and his acolytes will do everything they can to block the implementation of Obama's economic stimulus plan. The best way to stop Rush? Why, send money to the DGA of course.

And, the Democratic National Committee is raising money to sponsor a billboard in Limbaugh's hometown to "send him a message", according to an email sent by DNC executive director Jen O'Malley Dillon.

The appeals by the DNC, DSCC and DGA are the latest but far from the only evidence of how Democrats are seeking to use Limbaugh's comments as a cudgel against Republicans. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who is running for governor in Virginia, sent a letter to state Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the GOP nominee, calling on him to renounce Rush, and followed that up with an email petition drive aimed at pressuring McDonnell to "prove" his bipartisan credential by casting Limbaugh off the Republican island.

"Bob McDonnell says he knows how to work across party lines," said Mo Elleithee, a consultant to McAuliffe's campaign. "He can prove it by showing that he is willing to stand up to the de facto head of his party and repudiate his divisive rhetoric."

The appeal of these appeals is obvious for Democrats. As popular as Limbaugh is among the conservative base, he is equally reviled among liberal Democrats -- the very same group that is most likely to give money or donate their time to a candidate or committee.

While neither the DGA nor the DSCC would discuss what sort of response -- financial or otherwise -- their email petitions have received, one source familiar with the DSCC effort said it was on pace to rival a similar email sent out after then President George W. Bush commuted the sentence of former Cheney chief of staff Scooter Libby, who was convicted of obstruction in the Valerie Plame leak investigation.

In the end, this may be the lasting impact of Limbaugh's raised profile in the national political debate. It's highly unlikely that any candidate will win or lose in 2010 as a direct result of Limbaugh but the indirect effect on Democratic fundraising, organizing and base-rallying could be sustained and significant.

Obama in Ohio: President Obama jets to Columbus, Ohio today to speak at a police officer graduation. The idea is to tout the economic stimulus plan as some of the money sent to the Buckeye State was used to retain these new graduates rather than let them go.

Friday Must-Reads: Scanning the world of news for the best and brightest.

1. After a one day respite on Wednesday, the Dow continues its plummet.
2. The White House launches a new website (www.healthreform.gov) and announces a series of town halls to sell the public on the need for healthcare reform.
3. The man who beat, and subsequently lost to, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) is mulling a run for governor in 2010.
4. Politico.com commander in chief John Harris steps down from on high to pen an interesting piece on the uncertain future of the Democratic Leadership Council.
5. The Obama Administration is no longer "Paging Dr. Gupta."

DCCC Weighs in on NY-20: Keep an eye on the Albany media market today and you just might catch the first ad paid for the by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's independent expenditure arm. With a little over three weeks remaining in the special election race between state Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R) and businessman Scott Murphy (D), the DCCC will weigh in -- seeking to use their financial might to overcome the efforts of the National Republican Congressional Committee for Tedisco. GOP strategists have privately fretted about the DCCC's continuing financial edge and how they might bring it to bear in this race. No details on the extent of the ad buy yet but Democrats want to keep this Upstate seat in their column to keep up the momentum built last fall.

Twitter Drive: As of yesterday, we are nearing 7,750 followers. The goal is 10,000. Perhaps a giveaway of a few Fix T-shirts would do the trick? Tell your friends. Tell your enemies. Sign up to follow "TheFix" and "TheHyperFix."

McCain Mafia Reunites: John McCain's presidential campaign is over but four men who were intimately involved in that effort have banded together to form The Trailblazer Group, a GOP consulting firm based in Alexandria, Va. The four founding partners are: Craig "Goldy" Goldman, who ran McCain's Straight Talk PAC and served as a regional campaign manager during a portion of the general election; Christian Ferry, deputy campaign manager for McCain; Doug Davenport, a regional campaign manager who stepped aside last May due to his lobbying ties; and Ryan Price, the deputy national political director of McCain's presidential bid. "We are pleased to be able to offer our clients a public affairs business model that allows us to work both inside the beltway and in all the 50 states to best represent their needs," said Goldman.

The Clown is Back: For all of those (like the Fix) who mourned the departure of Krusty Conservative from the Iowa blogosphere, the time to rejoice is now. Krusty along with a passel of other GOP bloggers has re-formed under the umbrella of The Iowa Republican. Bookmark it. You'll thank us when presidential caucus season rolls around.

More Charlie Pics!: For those of you who have wanted to see a few more shots of the latest addition to the Fix family (and who wouldn't?), check out this and this.

Say What?: "It really is an honor to have him here and I know for some of my staff, and for bragging rights to my children and my grandchildren, a real treat for me as well." -- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) gushes, er, introduces actor Brad Pitt on Capitol Hill Thursday.

A person with knowledge of the discussions says former eBay Inc. chief executive Meg Whitman plans to run for governor of California.

The person was not authorized to talk publicly and spoke Monday on condition of anonymity. He says the 52-year-old Republican hopes to succeed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2011 but is not ready to make a formal announcement.

Henry Gomez, a spokesman for Whitman, says she stepped down from the boards of eBay, Procter & Gamble Co. and DreamWorks SKG last week.

He says it was for "personal reasons and time commitments" but would not elaborate.

Schwarzenegger, also a Republican, is being forced out by term limits.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an Associated Press analysis reveals.

The rewards came even at banks where poor results last year foretold the economic crisis that sent them to Washington for a government rescue. Some trimmed their executive compensation due to lagging bank performance, but still forked over multimillion-dollar executive pay packages.

Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal securities documents found.

The total amount given to nearly 600 executives would cover bailout costs for many of the 116 banks that have so far accepted tax dollars to boost their bottom lines.

Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services committee and a long-standing critic of executive largesse, said the bonuses tallied by the AP review amount to a bribe "to get them to do the jobs for which they are well paid in the first place.

"Most of us sign on to do jobs and we do them best we can," said Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat. "We're told that some of the most highly paid people in executive positions are different. They need extra money to be motivated!"

The AP compiled total compensation based on annual reports that the banks file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The 116 banks have so far received $188 billion in taxpayer help. Among the findings:

News of a rapidly weakening job sent stocks falling Friday as investors feared that the recession will be deeper and more prolonged than many have expected. The major indexes were all down more than 1 percent and the Dow Jones industrials fell 180 points.

The Labor Department's report that employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November came in much higher than the 320,000 that economists forecast. The job losses were severe enough to add to expectations that Washington will have to take even bigger steps to boost the economy.

Although stocks fell after the report, analysts said Friday's retreat likely would have been steeper if the market hadn't tumbled in the final hour of trading Thursday in anticipation of a weak reading.

"What we're seeing here is the market telling you that a downward drop in employment was somewhat expected," said Craig Peckham, equity trading strategist at Jefferies & Co.

"In a kind of paradoxical sense, the really ugly employment numbers probably helped the case for more help from Washington, whether it's through the broader stimulus plan or more targeted industry measures."

Job losses were widespread, hitting manufacturing, construction, retail, financial and other sectors. It was the biggest monthly loss of jobs since 1974.

While the rise in the unemployment rate wasn't as steep as the 6.8 percent forecast, investors clearly believe the employment outlook remains bleak - especially as the layoffs keep coming. On Thursday, bellwether companies like AT&T Inc. and DuPont Co. announced they were cutting thousands of jobs.

The fear on Wall Street is that a rising unemployment rate will, among other things, lead to a more severe pullback in consumer spending, which is a crucial component to helping the economy rebound. Weak retail sales reports for the month of November released Thursday added to these concerns.

"The news is consistently dreadful and is likely to remain so for some time as layoffs continue and economic reports come in," said Gary Townsend, president and chief executive of private investment group Hill-Townsend Capital Inc.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 180.40, or 2.15 percent, to 8,195.84 after falling 216 points Thursday.

Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 17.93, or 2.12 percent, to 827.29, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 24.08, or 1.67 percent, to 1,421.48.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 8.42, or 1.92 percent, to 431.11.

Five stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where trading volume came to a moderate 302.2 million shares.

Bond prices showed modest movements Friday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, inched up to 2.57 percent from 2.56 percent late Thursday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.02 percent from below 0.01 percent late Thursday, but still indicated extreme fear among investors.

The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude fell $1.71 to $41.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Concerns about the economy and weakening energy demand have kept oil prices down near four-year lows. The price of oil has fallen a staggering 70 percent since peaking at $147.27 in July.

Independent investment strategist Edward Yardeni said Friday's employment snapshot confirms the nation is mired in a difficult recession but that the extent of the weakness likely will galvanize government officials.

"The number was a shocker to such an extent that it's clearly going to require an enormous stimulus response from Washington," he said. "Cleary the Fed and the Treasury are going to move even faster."

The Federal Reserve and the Treasury have been taking unprecedented steps to revive the economy since the mid-September bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Other programs have sprung from the government's $700 billion bailout of the banking sector. The Treasury said Thursday it is considering a plan to encourage banks to make mortgage loans at low rates. That could help patch up the troubled housing market, which many analysts say is crucial to any economic recovery.

Wall Street has reacted with both optimism and indifference in recent months as policymakers have tried to revive troubled credit markets and stabilize wobbly banks. Some analysts have been hopeful that relative quiet in the markets for more than a week portends a return of some stability because of the government's efforts, while others warn that the volatility in the market will continue.

"The markets are, in my view, acting not stable at all but with excessive volatility and unpredictability," Townsend said. "It's a very difficult market to invest into and a very difficult market to trade."

Part of investors' uncertainty centers on the automakers. Investors are observing a second day of congressional hearings with the heads of Detroit's top three automakers, who are appearing on Capitol Hill in an effort to save their troubled industry.

General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are collectively seeking $34 billion in emergency funding. While the market largely expects the companies will win some sort of government aid, support for the troubled carmakers isn't assured. Friday's jobs report likely put added pressure on lawmakers to offer a lifeline that would let the companies avoid bankruptcy.

GM fell 5 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $4.06, while Ford rose 9 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $2.75. Chrysler isn't publicly traded.

Meanwhile, Merrill Lynch & Co. shareholders approved the investment bank's sale to Bank of America Corp. early Friday, in a move that will create the nation's largest financial services firm.

Bank of America agreed to buy Merrill for $50 billion after the collapse of rival investment firm Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September raised doubts about the viability of independent investment banks in general. The value of the all-stock deal has since fallen to about $20 billion, based on Bank of America's Thursday closing price of $14.34.

Bank of America shareholders were set to vote on the acquisition at 11 a.m. EST. The deal is expected to close during the first quarter.

Optimism that buoyed some overseas markets following massive interest rate cuts across Europe Thursday deflated following the report on U.S. jobs. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.26 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 4.71 percent, and France's CAC-40 declined 5.72 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average slipped 0.08 percent on the day.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed