RUSH: I’ll tell you something else is going on out there, and I didn’t see this in time. I got a note from Jonathan Martin, who is a political reporter. I left Hawaii before Obama did. I think I beat Obama to Hawaii, but I left before he did. Yeah. I didn’t print anything out. I paid scant attention. I read the news, Drudge Report, but I didn’t absorb anything. I didn’t dig deep. I just tried to turn the mind off.

As such, I didn’t read nearly every e-mail, until yesterday — and I put that off until late in the afternoon when the Steelers game got boring. There was a note from Jonathan Martin of Politico. He said, “I want to get your take on something.” I didn’t respond to it because I got it too late for his deadline. I don’t know that I would have responded anyway. He said, “Look, there’s a movement going on out there that by the name of the Republicans get to South Carolina they want to have chosen one conservative to go up against Romney rather than split the conservative vote. What is your thought on this? What do you know about it? Were you involved? Do you have anybody that you prefer?” This was the e-mail with the questions that Mr. Martin wanted my answers to.

Then shortly after that that’s when I saw Sarah Palin say,”This is not Michele Bachmann’s time,” and Sarah Palin said, it’s time that we coalesce behind one conservative, have us all agree — candidates and voters agree — on one conservative to go up against Romney, after New Hampshire winning employing into South Carolina and be done with this. I said, “Okay, well, I understand that. But who’s gonna tell Newt to pack it in? And who’s gonna tell Ron Paul to pack it in, and who’s gonna tell Santorum to pack it in and who’s gonna tell Rick Perry to pack it in?” How are we gonna choose this one conservative? Is it going to be the winner of the Hawkeye Cauci? Is it gonna be the winner of New Hampshire? Who is this conservative that we’re all going to coalesce behind? Who’s it going to be? There is this strategery. There is this thought that’s percolating out there.

I don’t know if it’s just right now an imagination, an item of imagination the media’s had or if it’s actually happened. When Sarah Palin said, “Ahhhh, Michele Bachmann, may not be her time.” Well, um, you could say that that’s a bit of a kiss of death. Sarah Palin is highly respected. A lot of people wish that she were running. So she says it’s not Michele Bachmann’s time. I’m sure Michele Bachmann would have preferred that Sarah Palin not say that. So there’s all kinds of stuff happening out there.