RUSH: Bob in Clinton Township, Michigan. Welcome, sir. I’m glad you waited. Welcome to the program.
CALLER: Hi, Rush.
RUSH: Hi.
CALLER: Mega August 15th second hour programming dittos.
RUSH: Thank you, sir, very much.
CALLER: Listen, I’ve been watching ESPN lately. I watch it all the time, but the past couple days, since they’ve had this T.O. and McNabb thing going on —
RUSH: Yeah.
RUSH: Who isn’t? I mean when you get down to it, who’s not?
CALLER: (Laughing.) That’s true.
RUSH: It surprises me. Who’s not? We’ve got some audio from what these guys have been saying, and we’ve got, let’s see. I’ve got two examples from ESPN. What were you watching on ESPN?
CALLER: PTI, and then the halftime.
RUSH: We’ve got that, PTI. Who was the other one?
CALLER: Halftime at the show, of the game between the Eagles and the Steelers.
RUSH: Oh, okay, the pregame show? They came up at the pregame show with the Steelers?
CALLER: Yeah.
RUSH: Ooooh?
CALLER: You know what? The video that they used of you? They must have got that before Al Gore invented the Internet.
RUSH: You know what’s amazing? They’ve got video of me that they could use. That’s (laughing). That just makes me laugh. The newspapers of America find the oldest pictures they can.
CALLER: I know!
RUSH: ESPN’s got five weeks of video of me, on their own set, and I didn’t see it. I don’t know what they used. They probably burned mine. (Laughing) No, I guarantee you they haven’t done that. Here’s a sample of what he’s talking about. Yesterday on Around the Horn. This is, I guess, the 5PM show that precedes Pardon the Interruption. The host Tony Reali, talking with Woody Paige of the Denver Post and Chicago Sun-Times reporter Jay Mariotti.
REALI: Next up Rush Limbaugh talking Donovan McNabb again. The radio host who once created a stir when he criticized the Eagles QB says he’d like to settle the T.O. McNabb feud on his radio show. Quote, “I am here to offer and to assist,” end quote. Guys, are you alright with Rush stepping in? Woody Paige.
PAIGE: He should stick to just whipping liberals. [ticking sound] What in the world is he back talking about the Philadelphia Eagles and Donovan McNabb? He got into trouble before. Leave it alone, Rush! We don’t want to hear your opinion with it! We don’t want to you mediate. We want you to stay com —
RUSH: Well, for one thing, nobody knows who Woody Paige is outside — audience size-wise, outside — of Denver. So nothing he says can get him into trouble because nobody will hear it. (laughing) Jay Mariotti is the second voice you heard here, and he’s from the Chicago Sun-Times, and then in the show that follows, this is — Pardon the Interruption — Michael Wilbon, talking to Ron Jaworski.
WILBON: I’m discounting for now Rush Limbaugh’s offer to mediate the dispute between Donovan and T.O. on his radio show, which leads me to ask you about a guy who I guess could at least address the two of them, get the two of them in the room, Andy Reid. Could Andy make this work, Jaws?
JAWORSKI: No, I think the damage is irreparable now. I think it’s a very bad situation.
RUSH: See, that’s where I totally disagree. I think it is totally fixable. It is reparable. It’s not going to be easy but there are ways to do this. This is not impossible. I mean, one guy is a child. You just have to understand you’re dealing with a child. Look it, I’m not under any illusions, folks. I don’t expect this to happen. But I couldn’t let it go on without offering my services. As I said last week: some of the most memorable events in my life have occurred in Philadelphia. I owe the people of Philadelphia a lot. But, you know, I’m offering an opportunity, and if nobody wants to avail themselves of it, fine. I don’t expect them to, but I just disagree with all this fatalistic pessimism that it can’t be done. It most certainly can. Bob, I appreciate the phone call. Thanks much.
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