RUSH: My question is, why is Obama still campaigning? Could somebody explain that to me. Everywhere I look, this election’s over. Why, Obama has hit 50% approval in the polls now for the first time ever. The bounce out of that disaster of a convention was unprecedented, other than Dukakis who had a 17-point lead after his, and somehow he lost. Brit Hume said today on Fox, “Well, you know, you gotta keep in mind the guy leading in the polls in mid-September rarely loses.” Ever heard of Dukakis? Ever heard of Jimmy Carter? And now Public Policy Polling has a poll out saying Obama’s at 50% in Ohio. They’re closing the gap. They’re gonna win Ohio now. Except Obama might lose New Mexico. New Mexico is still in play. They’re not telling you that. But why’s Obama still raising money? Why is he still campaigning, if this is over?
Folks, this is so predictable. The campaign to depress you and to dispirit you is underway, and it’s at full bore. It’s going 150%. These people have a disaster of a convention they’re trying to turn into the greatest convention ever. Obama is pitied. I can’t tell you all the theories. I’ve got people depressed ’cause they think the new iPhone isn’t gonna have anything in it. I’m surrounded by it. And I’m here to tell you, it is September the 10th. There’s two months to go. There’s no way this is over. There is no way.
I’ll give you another example. TheHill.com had a poll last week. I don’t have it here in front of me. But it was a devastating poll to Obama. The Washington Post and ABC News poll was devastating to Obama. Just last week, on Tuesday at his convention, TheHill.com poll had 52% thinking the country’s headed in the wrong direction, Obama’s bad for the country. It was horrible. The polling data from last week, Tuesday of the convention, was absolutely disastrous. And now all of a sudden it’s done a 180 in a week and all that last week doesn’t matter, and now TheHill.com has a poll out. Guess what they say? Guess what they went out and asked people? Do you think you’re not being played and set up, you know what? This election it is not about Obama. It’s not a referendum on Obama. Oh, no. This is a choice between two men. Why, they went out and they polled the exact theme of Obama’s speech, which was Jimmy Carter’s speech of 1980, which Pat Caddell says, hey, I recognize that; I wrote it.
So now it’s not a referendum on Obama. It’s a choice between two guys, which means, of course, whatever Romney says matters. I’m here to tell you, folks, you have got to stay bucked up. The effort to depress you and keep you home, I’ve never seen it like this before in my life. I have never seen this intense an effort by the Democrat machine, including the pollsters, and it’s sucking in a lot of our media. A lot of conservative media’s getting sucked in by this. They’re buying it ’cause they get caught up in the bubble that is the world as created and defined every day by the mainstream media. Their lives hinge on polling. And of course the polling, if you look carefully, you can find flaws.
The polls are just being used as another tool of voter suppression. The polls are an attempt to not reflect public opinion, but to shape it. Yours. They want to depress the heck out of you, and they want to suppress your vote. The polls are of adults, registered voters. Let me tell you the polls that count, and those are the polls a couple of weeks before the election. That’s when the pollsters worry about holding onto their credibility. Those are the polls that everybody remembers. Nobody’s gonna talk about what Public Policy Polling said in a poll in Ohio on September 10th. They’re gonna worry about what Public Policy Polling said a week before the election, and that’s when Public Policy Polling, a liberal group out of North Carolina, is gonna tell you what’s really going on.
So if you like polls, forget about ’em until two weeks before the election, because these now are being used specifically to depress you, to hang you up, to get you not voting, to get you mad at Romney. They want you to think Romney’s horrible; Romney’s worthless; Romney’s not conservative; Romney’s selling you out; Romney’s this or that; the election’s not about Obama at all.
Let me ask you a question. Can I get some common sense thrown in here? What happened in 2010? It was a landslide defeat for Barack Obama and the Democrats. 2010 was what? It was a referendum on what had happened those two years. The Republicans hadn’t done diddly-squat because those two years the Republicans did not have enough votes anywhere to stop Obama anywhere, anytime. They were mere spectators. The House didn’t have the votes to stop Obama. The Senate didn’t have the votes to stop Obama. The first two years. The 2010 midterms were a shellacking, a landslide defeat, and not just for national Democrats, but all the way down the ballot to dogcatcher in Oshkosh. Nothing against Oshkosh. It’s just the first town that comes to my mind when I get on these riffs.
Now, what’s changed, folks? It’s gotten worse! The economy has gotten worse. The job situation has gotten worse. The entitlement situation has gotten worse. The debt situation has gotten worse. What has happened in the last two years to erase what happened in 2010? My point is: Not a thing. What else is noteworthy about 2010? There was no Republican candidate on a ballot, nationally, that was leading anything.
The Tea Party was what was making things happen on the Republican side (and, I should better say, “the conservative side”). But it was a referendum on Obama, and so is this gonna be — and every one of these polling groups, and every one of these Democrat groups, know it. And they’re doing everything they can to get you to forget everything you know. They’re doing everything they can to get you to deny what you know is common sense.
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RUSH: I’m telling you, nothing has changed from 2010. None of this makes any sense, folks. You’re telling me Obama’s much more popular today than he was two years ago? You think Obama’s policies are much more popular today than they were two years ago? You think the people that showed up and voted in 2010 to stop Obama have decided, “Ah, to hell with it. I like him”? Try this theory.
I’ve had a version of this theory. Here’s the theory out there about why we’re gonna lose. “Well, what’s happened, Rush, is that the unemployment compensation (99 weeks), that’s come and gone. So what people have done is sign up for Social Security disability. That’s their new form of unemployment.” Which is true. That’s happened. But what we need to know is that that means that people are afraid to do without Obama.
The people on welfare, the people on Social Security disability — people still on unemployment — are afraid to do without Obama. The fact that he’s destroyed the economy will actually benefit him. Yes, that’s what we’re to believe. The fact that he’s destroyed the economy is gonna benefit Obama because all those people who are now on some sort of welfare-like assistance are gonna be scared to death to get rid of Obama because then what will become of their meager existence?
Let me check something real quick. (muttering) It’s a Hill poll. I don’t know which Hill poll this is, ’cause I talked about two: One last week, and there’s one out today. “Oh, no! This is not a referendum on Obama. No, no, this is a choice election.” And, by the way, it’s like 36% believe it’s a referendum on Obama and 52% think it’s “a choice between two futures.” (Why does that sound familiar?) Here’s more from the Hill poll today: “The survey also includes some sobering findings for the” regime.
Hmm! You aren’t hearing about this except from me. “A majority of voters say their opinion of Obama has gotten worse since he took office, the poll found.” Wait a minute! This is the same poll that the media today is highlighting to say, “It’s not a referendum on Obama; it’s a choice between two gentlemen, two futures.” Well, this Hill poll is as devastating this week as it was last week for Obama, and so is people’s perception of his job performance.
Again, TheHill.com poll today “includes some sobering findings for the [regime]. A majority of voters say their opinion of Obama has gotten worse since he took office, the poll found. Forty-one percent said they have a ‘much worse’ view of Obama now than in 2008; 11 percent said their opinion is ‘slightly worse’ …” Well, let’s see: 41% plus 11%, that’s 52% think it’s worse. Plus, “while 38% overall said their view of him had improved. By contrast, a near-majority of — 47% — say their view of Romney has improved as they have learned more about him…”
Well, that’s exact opposite of what every poll has been telling you all weekend. Hmm! “Thirty-nine percent say that their opinion of Romney has become worse.” The Hill buried that in their poll. Look, I know that Romney’s not ideal, and I know that Romney ticks you off, and I know that Romney on Meet the Press said, “Ah, there’s parts of Obamacare…” Ann Romney went out there, and do you know what she said? God bless Ann Romney. She went out there and she said, “Our convention was meant to prove we’re not heartless.”
Well, let me tell you something. You see that and you ball up your fists and say, “What are they talking about!” It’s not about them. I hate to tell you this. I mentioned this on the air some time ago. Romney, the best thing he can do is remember this election isn’t about him. He may as well be Elmer Fudd as far as we’re concerned. We’re voting against Obama. I don’t care who they put on the ticket, we’re voting against Obama. That has not changed, and there are more people now than in 2010 who are gonna vote against Obama.
And David Gregory knows it and F. Chuck Todd knows it. The CNN people know it, and the MSNBC people know it. That’s why they’re doing what they’re doing with the polling data, trying to dispirit you and depress you. Because that’s all they’ve got. They can’t sing the guy’s praises; he’s a disaster. Whether he’s incompetent or whether he’s doing it on purpose doesn’t matter. It ain’t working! There’s not one thing they can point to that’s working. The Chevrolet Volt? They’re losing $49,000 on every car!
It’s right here in the Stack of Stuff: $49,000 lost on every Chevy Volt made.
And Obama’s out talking about the auto industry being revived and rescued?
It’s a lie!
It’s an absolute crock!
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RUSH: You know, when it comes to the Gallup poll, I think you’ve heard (you’ve probably just forgotten), Axelrod has not been threatening them, but he blasted ’em for their spread, for using the same voter turnout in 2010 to poll the electorate this time around. He blasted ’em. And shortly after he blasts Gallup, guess what changes? Gallup’s numbers. Now, Axelrod is “the government.” He’s not just part of a campaign; he’s part of the regime.
When somebody in the government comes along and starts…? Plus Gallup’s sympathetic to Obama anyway, so it didn’t take much.
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RUSH: Here’s more information on Gallup, by the way. The Department of Justice, Eric Holder, has joined in a lawsuit against Gallup brought by a former Gallup employee as a top Obama organizer. So the DOJ, the regime, suing Gallup, and shortly thereafter Gallup’s numbers on Obama change. Here’s more from TheHill.com poll today. “Among women, 39 percent said they were more likely to vote for Obama because of the conventions while 35 percent said they were more likely to vote for Romney.” That 39 has gotta be 50 for it to matter. After four days of the War on Women, after four days of the uterus and the vagina being a focal point of the convention, 39% say they were more likely to vote for Obama. They’re gonna need more than that to overcome Romney’s advantage in men. And who the heck knows what TheHill.com was asking about this being a choice election versus a referendum election.
I’m amazed. Here you have a poll that actually uses as a question an assertion from Obama’s acceptance speech. This is going to be a referendum Obama? That’s why we’re so worried, folks. Nothing’s changed from 2010. Did Chick-fil-A not happen? Did those nationwide protests of Chick-fil-A not happen? Everybody that was involved, you talk about a grassroots, spontaneous effort. All over this country, everywhere there were Chick-fil-A restaurants, you know what happened in response to the assault on Chick-fil-A. Those people are gonna vote. Have they decided after the convention to say, “You know what? Maybe Obama’s not so bad.”
This is a referendum on Obama, and it’s what’s got us all scared to death. Because if the referendum on Obama is that this is the kind of country people want, that’s what’s got us worried. But it hasn’t changed. It’s a referendum on Obama. But they’re doing everything they can. I still predict — don’t forget, it was just last week, New York Times and a couple of other prominent lib places started writing stories blaming Obama — got the Woodward book coming out blaming Obama for being horrible decision-maker, not even showing up. It’s just last week. And all of a sudden the weekend comes, the Sunday shows, some new polls, and the reality of just five days ago is forgotten. It’s not how things work. It was just last week the media was preparing to throw Obama overboard in order to save liberalism because it looked like he was gonna lose.
All of this is based on a supposedly mythical bounce that Obama’s got from his convention. You know, my memory is that all these Drive-By Media people were crushed after Obama’s speech on Thursday night. My memory is they thought it was horrible. My memory is they thought it was empty. My memory is that they thought it was vapid and there was nothing to it. Now all of a sudden it’s the greatest damn speech ever given. I know it’s tough to hold on, folks, I know it’s tough to stay for some people.
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RUSH: Now, there’s a piece, PJMedia.com, PajamasMedia.com. It’s posted yesterday by Sarah Hoyt. Until yesterday I didn’t know who Sarah Hoyt was. I still don’t know who she is, but this is an excellent, excellent piece. I can’t read the whole thing because it’s too long. “Spreading Fear And Despondency.” It sounds like she feels as exasperated as I do at the people who have gotten so depressed on our side that they’re just about ready to throw in the towel. She starts her post this way.
“Recently IÂ’ve been reading the anti-Obama blogosphere, and yesterday it finally got to me. I have only one question to ask — are you insane? No, let me add a few other questions: Have you gone completely out of your minds? Do you want to lose? And do you understand fully what a loss would mean? I hate to say it but I think the answers are yes, yes, yes and no. I donÂ’t like yelling at people on the right. Like Reagan, I hold on to the idea that there are no enemies on the right. I prefer to make my points in nicer ways. However, there comes a time any good housewife reaches for the broom. It is now time for the broom.
“Yesterday at various blogs I read over and over again that the Dem convention gave Obama a big bounce, that heÂ’s winning, that his approval is now over 50%, that their enthusiasm is as high as that of the Republican crowd. And then you look at the polls that caused this ‘sky is falling’ fit. What are those polls? Those polls are, in fact, the same old [crap]. They poll all adults, which you KNOW skews Democrat. They poll registered voters, which you know skews Democrat. They poll with a skew of 4% Democrats over Republicans as though this were still 2008, as if 2010 had never happened.” And when Gallup polled, according to 2010, Axelrod and the regime jumped on ’em, threatened ’em.
“Then all the people on the right echo these as though they were legitimate and say ‘oh, but the polls were correct before.'”
So she’s upset here at all the poll watchers on our side who fall for it and buy into it. ” “Really? The polls were correct before? When? The very last polls before the elections…” By the way, this is exactly right. The very last polls before the election, when pollsters try to salvage their reputation, that’s when you pay attention to the polls. It’s just like I said, the Public Policy Polling poll out of Ohio today that shows Obama at 50% doesn’t mean anything. Nobody’s gonna go back and cite this poll as to whether or not PPP had any idea what they were doing or any credibility. The same with Rasmussen, the same with Gallup, Reuters, you name it. They’re gonna look at the polls in the last week to two before the election. And that’s when you get accurate ones. That’s when we’ll know. Up until then, we know these polls are all conducted by people who want Obama reelected, who want the Obama agenda. They don’t even know what it is.