RUSH: Here’s Sean in Dayton, Ohio. Sean, I’m glad you called. You’re next on the program. Hello.
CALLER: Thank you, Rush. It’s an honor. I’m guilty of most of my years being a nonparticipant politically speaking.
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: And after I woke up, not having prior leanings, I consider myself an independent, not married to either party.
RUSH: Right.
CALLER: When Obama was elected, I thought, my God, with the across-the-board support this guy has, he could be one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had if he tries to do half of what he talked about during his campaign. Now, unfortunately, you know, the transparency, the no shady people in the administration, none of this has proven to be true. And, in fact, I can’t listen to any of them speak any longer and with any credibility whatsoever. And —
RUSH: Good.
CALLER: — on the eve of the State of the Union address —
RUSH: Good.
CALLER: — I just want to remind people to keep their perspective and remember that these people work for us, not the other way around.
RUSH: May I ask you a question out there, Sean?
CALLER: Certainly.
RUSH: When you cited just moments ago the Obama campaign and you said if he woulda just accomplished half of what he said, what were some of those things you heard him talk about wanting to do that you liked? Do you remember? It’s not a trick question. I’m not trying to put you on the spot. I’m just curious if you remember any of them?
CALLER: Well, the one that most appealed to me was the transparency factor, that it wasn’t gonna be business-as-usual, you know, we were gonna discuss things, everything was gonna be on the table, and that Obama health care, for example, not only do I not have any idea what all’s in that bill, I would bet you’d be hard-pressed to find a Democrat who has any idea what’s in that thing.
RUSH: Well, as to that, specifically, you’re right. But summarily, they know exactly what it is, which is why they supported it. They know that it transfers power to the government to the tune of one-sixth of the US private sector, that it’s one of the greatest transfers from the private sector to public sector ever. They know that it gives them more and more power over the lives of individuals in this country than they’ve ever had in areas of life that people consider among the most important, their health, life and death. It’s insidious in that way. Do you take pride in not being an either/or? You take pride in being independent or undecided?
CALLER: I try to take each individual and each question on its own merits.
RUSH: Okay. Fair enough. Now, again, I’m doing this for my own education. I don’t want you to misunderstand my tone of voice or the questions, okay? And if you don’t want to answer any of these, just feel free. But I’m using you as a learning experience for myself.
CALLER: Fair enough.
RUSH: Do you see universal differences between Democrats as a party and Republicans as a party?
CALLER: Absolutely 100 percent.
RUSH: Okay. So when a Democrat candidate for president, whoever it happens to be, starts talking about wanting the government to take over health care — they don’t use those terms — what does that mean to you if you, and if you hear a Republican say that they don’t think that that’s the right way to go, how do you hear those two positions and decide?
CALLER: Well, I’m a huge believer in individual freedom, and I would submit somewhere between .01 and 2.5 of my fellow Americans who blindly follow this administration, that if you are doing that, you are part of the group that they consider so stupid they need to be told what’s good for ’em and what they should do.
RUSH: Are you still an independent?
CALLER: I am an independent with — well, you know what they say, if you’re 20 years old and you’re not a liberal, then you got no heart. But if you’re 40 years old and you’re not a conservative, then you got no brains.
RUSH: Yeah. I’ve heard that. Well, you don’t sound like an independent. You sound more like a conservative to me.
CALLER: Well, I am now, because to me, every administration has done their share of deceiving and networking and outright graft to the point it’s always the American people on the short end of the stick.
RUSH: A-ha.
CALLER: And it’s just high time that we stop being hyphenated Americans this, that, and the other, and we just come together as Americans —
RUSH: Were you listening to this program during the campaign?
CALLER: Yes, I was.
RUSH: Okay. Again, now, there’s no wrong answer. You have to believe me. There’s no setup. This is entirely an attempt on my part to be educated about something. When I listened to the Obama campaign, when I listened to Obama’s supporters, when I listened to people speak in favor of him, in support of him, when I listened to him, I didn’t believe any of it because he’s a liberal. Not one word of it. And I didn’t want any part of what Obama was talking about because he is a liberal. I happen to know what that means for me and the country when liberals get power, not because it’s an opinion; I’ve seen it. I’ve seen it around the world; I’ve seen it in this country. My question to you is, at that time, you’re an independent, you’re hoping Obama means it, I mean if he’s able to accomplish half of what he’s talking about and with this much public support, my gosh, what a great bunch of changes we could have, correct? So my question is when you heard me basically trying to persuade everybody this is not what you think it is, what was your reaction? Did I turn you off? Was it mildly persuasive? Did you think I didn’t know what I was talking about? Did you think I was just being partisan for partisan’s sake? What did you think?
CALLER: Well, I hoped that they would address all of these different areas of concern that you folks were warning us about, and unfortunately they really didn’t, and I think —
RUSH: Did you vote for Obama?
CALLER: Well, they snuck up on us, that’s what they did.
RUSH: Okay, there’s no wrong answer here, now, because, again, unlike most times, I am making this about me. Did you vote for Obama, and if you did it, why did you doubt me? Seriously, you can’t hurt my feelings, there’s no wrong answer here, and you don’t have to tell me what you think I want to hear here. Just if you voted for Obama, that means you didn’t believe me, you doubted me. What did you doubt?
CALLER: Actually, when I was in the voting booth I could not pull the lever for Obama.
RUSH: Ah. Hmm. Now, that in itself is interesting. But you walked in there prepared to?
CALLER: Well, I wanted to have an open mind and tried to do what I thought was in the best interests of the country and —
RUSH: What does an open mind mean to you? Meaning you’ll decide, you’re not gonna let somebody like me make up your mind for you? You’re gonna do it on your own?
CALLER: Exactly. I mean even Jesus told his disciples, question everything, even me.
RUSH: Right.
CALLER: Not to make that comparison.
RUSH: Well, don’t doubt me. (laughing)
CALLER: So I just wanted to remind the American people to keep their perspective —
RUSH: That’s right.
CALLER: — when they’re watching the State of the Union —
RUSH: Thank you.
CALLER: — and remember that these people work for us, not the other way around.
RUSH: Right, and they’ve misled us, they’ve misled us since the first time they started talking. Something else I agree with Sean about. When I made my CPAC speech, I made a point to talk about with as much support as he had, and with as much talent as he’s got, what a great nation he could inspire people in this country to make, if he chose to do it. If Obama had chosen to inspire people to be the best they can be rather than paint them all as victims that want to get even with some aspect of this nation’s past, could you imagine if he’d-a chosen that route? He could have effectively ended the Republican Party. But I knew it wasn’t gonna happen. But it was an illustration of the opportunity that he could have been the next Reagan, had he really wanted to. Well, Sean, I’m glad you called. I appreciate it.