Will Media Poll Kennedy’s Cancer?

RUSH: Senator Kennedy in the hospital this morning, brain surgery at Duke University, started at nine o’clock. It’s said to be a six-hour surgery. They’re trying to get as much of the brain tumor as possible. But experts say this kind of tumor’s got lots of tentacles, will be tough to get it all. I’m just wondering, the Drive-By Media — and let me specify, let me remind you, because what I’m going to say here, there’s precedent for this. Remember when John and Elizabeth Edwards had their press conference announcing her cancer had returned? Remember Howard Fineman and remember all the Drive-By Media’s talking about that press conference in a political sense and asking themselves and us, ‘Will this help the Edwards campaign?’ Howard Fineman thought it would. Howard Fineman thought it was one of the most brilliant political appearances he had seen. It was a home run and they thought it would really go a long way toward helping fundraising and so forth. So in that light — and this is not intended to mock Senator Kennedy, so don’t anybody misunderstand me. This is not intended to mock his condition or the depravity of this type of operation.

What I want to do is mock the media’s absurd dedication to polls. I don’t know how long it will be and I don’t know if it will happen, but I will not be surprised if we see a poll down the road asking if Senator Kennedy’s illness and his operation will be of greater benefit to Obama or Hillary. Don’t be surprised. I know these people like every square inch of my glorious naked body and I won’t be surprised if I see this. Kennedy endorsed Obama, obviously, but Hillary is identified with universal health care, and so the question will be, ‘Will Senator Kennedy’s operation benefit Obama or Hillary the most?’ or they might go, ‘Will it create a sympathetic backlash for Democrats in general?’ We did a Morning Update on this, too, by the way, but there was a story out there last week — Snerdley, help me out on this — what was the headline on that story we did the update on? This guy from the AP: Kennedy fading as a target for right wing. And what was his premise? Why is Kennedy fading as a target for the right wing? Because he’s been so collegial and he’s so nice and he gets along with everybody, and the news has come out how everybody in the Senate loves him and so forth. It’s the same situation here with what the Edwards and the media and their political — I should say ramifications of their preference.

I would like to remind the Associated Press that Senator Kennedy’s illness is not something that takes place in the political arena and, as such, going after Senator Kennedy’s illness is not something we would do. We go after Senator Kennedy here on the basis of ideas within the arena of ideas, within the political spectrum. It’s the left that sits out there when they hear somebody gets sick and their blog post: ‘Hope they die.’ It’s the left that does that. I knew when I saw that headline, I knew what was coming in that piece, and we were right.