Rush Limbaugh told his listeners that President Obama wanted Irene to be a disaster

Palm Beach radio host Rush Limbaugh believes President Obama was "hoping" that Hurricane Irene would be a "disaster."

That's what he said on his show Monday.

He prefaced his remarks by saying to his audience, "You know how the media lies. You know how politicized everything is to push the leftist agenda. You know how the media distorts."

He said the media couldn't wait for Irene.

"I'll guarantee you this. I'll guarantee you Obama was hoping this is going to be a disaster as another excuse for his failing economy," Limbaugh said. "If he's out there blaming tsunamis, if he's blaming earthquakes, and whatever other national, natural disasters there are, I mean this one, this one (was) made to order, but it just didn't measure up."

Limbaugh said what he called the hysterical reporting on Irene has exposed the media to many people who might not have really have noticed it before.

The Associated Press reported that the death toll from Irene has climbed to 35 people in 10 states after a number of bodies were pulled from the floodwaters in the Northeast.