RUSH: To Chicago, this is Mark. I’m glad you called, sir, and welcome to the program.
CALLER: Hey, Rush, mega dittos from Chicago. It’s always a highlight to talk with you.
RUSH: Thank you very much.
CALLER: Hey, Rush, in light of what you talked about yesterday, and not being covered by the Drive-By Media, and then you had that brilliant caller on Monday talking about connecting the heart and the mind, my direct question to you is, if the American electorate does not connect the dots on Hillary and what’s going on out there, do you really think she has a shot of pulling this thing off and sitting in the Oval Office in January of ’09?
RUSH: Hell, yes. I was the first to say that there’s an 80% chance that she’s the next president. Would you answer a question for me?
CALLER: Yes, sir.
RUSH: I realize many people think I’m capable of doing this on my own, but yesterday was a gold mine for Republican presidential candidates; it was a gold mine for the Republican National Committee. Have you heard any of them react —
CALLER: Nothing.
RUSH: — to what was said either by Bollinger and what it means, or to Hillary doing a total flip-flop and sounding like George W. Bush? Both of them should be approached by media members, both of them should be tagged by Republican presidential candidates, say, ‘Wait a minute, if this is what you guys really think, why aren’t you supporting the United States effort in the Middle East?’ If the Republicans don’t get on the field, I mean, this is a sitting duck, handed to them on a silver platter. So if nobody’s going to go after her, and if nobody’s going to put in perspective the importance of what Bollinger said from the standpoint, they’ve always known it. He didn’t just come up with these views on Iran yesterday or the day before when he wrote his little introduction of Ahmadinejad. He’s felt this all along. So where’s the support been? Where’s the support for the United States of America? There’s countless opportunity here to make this stuff connectable, dot-wise.
CALLER: Hey, Rush, Rush, as I travel, and even in light of yesterday, I still see the incredible support for her, and how she’s the world’s smartest woman, and there’s no interest in even trying to connect the dots in order to say this is the most disastrous thing we could ever do as a nation is put her in that Oval Office.
RUSH: Well —
CALLER: And I’ll be honest, Rush, I’m not going to use the word fear, because you’ve taught me to overcome fear. It concerns me. It’s a major concern. Again, being a military parent, too, it’s a huge, major concern.
RUSH: Believe me, I understand totally. What you have to understand here is that she’s going to get a certain amount of support because she’s a Democrat — party loyalty. There’s nothing you’re going to be able to do about that. We’re dealing here with 15 years of name recognition. Now, not all of it has been good, but Mrs. Clinton benefits quite a bit from playing the victim. Both Clintons routinely love to point out how they’re constantly attacked by the right-wing conspiracy. When you’ve got the Drive-By Media on your side carrying that water, you’re able to drum up sympathy. She is not scrutinized; her words are not scrutinized. Five television shows on Sunday, and I picked one thing that she said on Stephanopoulos. Nobody even asked her a tough question. Russert did on Iraq. But that was about it. But the Drive-Bys didn’t pick up on that and report it, nor was it reported anywhere else on MSNBC. There’s just not the same kind of scrutiny in the Drive-By Media, all kinds of explanations for this.
But I also think lurking out there, something else that the Drive-Bys don’t talk about, Mark, and that is there are plenty of people — and the dirty little secret is that a lot of them are women — who do not like this woman. My 80% figure is as of now. This is subject to change, of course. But she could end up redefining negative turnout, too, meaning people showing up to vote against her. She is not liked. Her unfavorable number hovers around 49%. She is not a likable person. She does not have a likable personality, and she does not have this force of nature aura that her husband, Der Schlick Meister, has. The more she talks, the more her numbers plummet, which is the big challenge for them as this unfolds. But I understand your frustration. This comes up every year. Where are the American people? How come they don’t see? Half of them are not paying attention right now, by the way, either. Well, they’re not. They’re not going to start paying attention in earnest until after Labor Day next year, maybe through the convention. This is all right now for the wonks and so forth and those who can be made interested in it.