RUSH: ReaderÂ’s Digest Trust Poll: The 100 Most Trusted People in America. They survived 1,009 people between January 24th and January 29th. “Who is the most trusted man in America?” Want to take a stab at it? Wanna take a wild guess? I’ll give you a little hint. Clarence Thomas is number 88.

It’s Tom Hanks.

It’s Tom Hanks, who only utters words written by others, while in disguise. (interruption) An actress, Snerdley, not a comedian. Tom Hanks, followed by — Are you ready? — Sandra Bullock. The number three most trusted American, Denzel Washington. The number four most trusted American, Meryl Streep. So the top four most-trusted Americans in the Reader’s Digest poll, are actors. The number four most trusted person in America is Maya Angelou. Barack Obama is number 65. Clint Eastwood is number 13.

The Politico is outraged at this.

The Politico is outraged that Eastwood is 13 and Obama is 65.

They’re not outraged that the top three most respected Americans are actors. They just can’t believe that Eastwood ranks that much higher than Obama. Obama is at 65. Moochelle (My Belle) Obama is at number 19. Madam Albright, the former secretary of state, is at number 23. Former President Jimmy Carter is number 24. Colin Powell, 32. Hillary Clinton, 51. Top five spots again: Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, and Maya Angelou.

The top four all utter words written for them by other people, while in disguise.

Can you say low-information voters?

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Only one Republican made the Reader’s Digest list. Folks, I don’t know who publishes it now. I remember when I started the program in 1988, Reader’s Digest was after me to write things and be interviewed for it. I mean, it was a very conservative, family oriented publication. I don’t know who owns it now. But there’s only one Republican in the 100 Most Trusted People in America. It is Condoleezza Rice, and she is at number 68. There is only one Fox News personality on the 100 Most Trusted People in America in Reader’s Digest, and it is Shepard Smith, who clocks in at 100.

Katie Couric is at number 37. Whoopi Goldberg is at number 46. Matt Lauer is at 87. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times is number 98. Paul Krugman of the New York Times is 99. Noam Chomsky is number 20. Ruth “Buzzi” Ginsburg is 36 and Stephen Breyer is 43. (Those are Supreme Court justices.) John Roberts, the chief justice, is at number 44. Ben Affleck is at number 40. Alex Trebek… Who? Ben Affleck made number 45. Alex Trebek made it. Julia Roberts made it. Melinda Gates and Bill Gates. Did you hear what Bill Gates said the other day? He said, “Nobody likes the iPad. It doesn’t have a keyboard.” He said, “What people want is what Microsoft is selling.

“People have their iPads, but they don’t like ’em. There’s no keyboard.” I mean, that is utter, total denial. Windows 8 is an absolute disaster. It’s facing a recall, practically. Bill Gates actually said, “Ah, people have their iPads, but they don’t really like ’em. What they really wish they had was a Microsoft Surface,” to which people said, “What?” And he shows up on this list. Sandra Bullock, of course, starred in The Blind Side. Denzel Washington played an alcoholic pilot in a movie. Meryl Streep (impression), “What are we doing to our children?” Actually, she’s probably on there for the Devil Wears Prada.

You may laugh, folks, but I’m telling you: This will tell you more about what’s going on in America than the Benghazi hearings or anything else in the news. I kid you not.

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RUSH: This Reader’s Digest poll, before we get to the Benghazi hearings, because we’re rolling on them, and what I really want to do, in addition to some of the flashback things that we have, there are earth-shattering sound bites of testimony happening, we’re rolling on it and as those come in, we’ll play them for you. That probably will end up being the focus, but we will look back and do some of the flashbacks just to remind you.

This Reader’s Digest poll of the 100 most respected Americans, I’m here to tell you, the White House is thrilled by polls like this. The Democrat Party — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart — the Democrat Party revels in any news like this that portrays the ignorance and the unseriousness of the American people. That is music to their ears. Because you have the 100 most respected Americans and the top four are actors and number five is Maya Angelou. What that means to the White House, for example, is they can get away with talking about the rapid rise in gun violence, even though gun violence is plummeting.

You want to hear some shocking news? Los Angeles Times: “Gun crime has plunged in the United States since its peak in the middle of the 1990s, including gun killings, assaults, robberies and other crimes, two new studies of government data show. Yet few Americans are aware of the dramatic drop, and more than half believe gun crime has risen, according to a newly released survey by the Pew Research Center.”

Now, here’s the upshot of this. Gun crime has plummeted, folks. Outside of Chicago, gun crime is way down from its peak in the 1990s, but most Americans think it’s way up. I wonder how that happens? What would explain that? Well, I’ll tell you. Any time the general public has a misapprehension about something, it’s the Drive-By Media’s fault, there is no question. In the old days it was usually incompetence. Now it’s just outright bias or nonreporting or misreporting for the purposes of pushing the agenda of the Democrat Party. Would it be unfair to say that the president and his media suck-ups have misled the American people about gun crimes in an effort to pass gun control laws? Yep, I think it would be fair to say that.

In the last 20 years, has the gun murder rate gone up or down in the US? Here are the numbers. “The number of gun killings dropped 39% between 1993 and 2011, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in a separate report released Tuesday. Gun crimes that werenÂ’t fatal fell by 69%.” So gun killings down 39%, gun crimes, unfatal, 69%. Now, if you thought that the gun murder rate had increased, check and see if you fit a pattern that was detected in this study. Are you ready?

“Women, people of color and the elderly were more likely to believe that gun crime was up than men, younger adults or white people.” Democrats are more likely to believe gun crime is up than Republicans. That’s how you analyze that. “Women, people of color and the elderly were more likely to believe that gun crime was up than men, younger adults or white people.” So basically the Democrats and liberals think we’re going through the roof with gun crime and the Republican, slash, conservatives don’t. So in the middle of this anomaly, actual crimes and killings with guns plummeting, the regime wants to weaken the Second Amendment. The regime wants new and more restrictive gun laws.

Remember, never let an imagined crisis go to waste. So here we have a totally made up crisis. In fact, I’ll bet you, it’s kind of like global warming. If you were to take this data that comes from the government and the Pew Research Center, you take this out on the street to your average low-information voter, and you tell ’em, “Do you realize that gun crime, gun killings, are down nearly 40% since 1993?”

“No way, man. No way. I saw what happened. I saw what happened in Connecticut, man, no way, and I saw what happened in Aurora. You’re lying, man, ain’t no way. That’s propaganda.”

Would you believe if I told you that crimes committed with guns where we nobody died were down 70%? “No way, man, no way. I seen it on TV. It’s just the opposite. Everybody knows we gotta do something about guns because gun crime is going through the roof.”

“Really? It isn’t. It really isn’t, but you think that it is?”

“Yeah, I see it on TV.” And along comes the regime to capitalize on something that is not happening to further weaken the Second Amendment, pass more restrictive gun control laws, even if there’s no need.

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RUSH: Angie in Wichita, Kansas. Hi, Angie. Thank you for calling. It’s great to have you here. Hello.

CALLER: Hello! It is an honor to speak with you.

RUSH: Thank you very much.

CALLER: Now I’m gonna forget that I’m speaking to you so I won’t get nervous.

RUSH: Just think of me as your husband.

CALLER: You know, I feel bad coming up against this Benghazi thing, talking about Reader’s Digest. But, you know, I’m sitting here thinking what a contrast it is, because what is real is not real.

RUSH: It’s all connected.

CALLER: Exactly. What is not real to the average American is made real by saying they trust Tom Hanks. Who is he? I don’t know.

RUSH: Well, now, remember, there’s another aspect of this. We are assuming Reader’s Digest is telling us the truth about it.

CALLER: Yeah.

RUSH: You could probably find a thousand people that think Tom Hanks the coolest guy in the country.

CALLER: Absolutely.

RUSH: Where would you have to go to do that, I don’t know, but we’re accepting it on faith that the Reader’s Digest telling us that this thousand people is a perfect cross-section of America.

CALLER: Well, I read that article, and Reader’s Digest has actually been a part of my life for the last, I don’t know, since I could read, probably. I’ve always enjoyed reading and I grew up reading it. My parents subscribed to it, and when I was able to do that, I subscribed to it as well. My children read it. They love it. I have to go look for it now.

RUSH: It’s not the same. A private equity group bought it in 2007, and it’s different now. Thanks for the call.

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RUSH: Grab a quick telephone call here before the Reader’s Digest discussion fades from memory. Tom in Chicago, great to have you, sir. Hi.

CALLER: Hi, Rush. Honor to talk to you. I’m calling from the safe south side of Chicago ’cause of the gun laws, and the fact that Hillary Clinton is even on that? She’s been an accomplished liar since she was 20, from the Nixon — skinking around the White House.

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: She was involved in Watergate.

RUSH: That’s where she first showed promise even though they had to kick her off the committee, but —

CALLER: Right.

RUSH: — that’s where she first showed promise.

CALLER: But when you saw Noam Chomsky, didn’t that throw you for a loop? Most people don’t know who Noam is. The fact that he was the most trusted? I think that’s a Red Herring. I don’t know if it’s a real list.

RUSH: The Reader’s Digest list, you don’t know if it’s real?

CALLER: Yeah, yeah. The fact that Noam Chomsky is one of the Most Trusted People? Most people don’t even know who he is, except for extreme left-wing whack jobs, of which I used to be in a Democratic precinct —

RUSH: Well, there’s a lot of questions. I think the whole list is suspect, but, you know, if it’s true, if Tom Hanks is the most respected man in America and Sandra Bullock is next and Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep and then Maya Angelou. I mean, Maya Angelou, what does she do, The River, The Rock, and the Tree poem at the Clinton inauguration. Noam Chomsky, you’re right, I mean, who knows who these people are. But it is a curiosity. I think it’s designed to dispirit people. It’s designed to create discussion, curiosity about the Reader’s Digest and so forth, but it’s doubtful. It doesn’t seem like it has any basis in reality whatsoever. Thanks, Tom, for the call.