RUSH: Now, this has been a treat. It has been a treat to listen to all the reasons why they had to move Obama’s outdoor extravaganza indoors. It’s the weather. Yes, it’s the possibility of lightning, possibility of thunderstorms. They just don’t have the people, folks. They just can’t get the people there. I’ve heard some of the flimsiest excuses from people trying to defend this decision. It’s comical. They just can’t get the people. It’s not that they don’t have buses. They don’t have people to put on the buses. They don’t have people who want to go. It’s no more complicated than that. They can’t find 64,000 people that want to go to this thing. Well, maybe they can find 18 or 20 for the indoor arena, but they can’t find the additional bodies.

A local meteorologist in Charlotte, North Carolina is puzzled here. He said Thursday night is likely going to be the best weather of the entire week. Brad Panovich WCNC NBC TV wrote on Twitter: Thursday night will likely be the best weather of the entire week. Now, I heard Alan Colmes. Normally I don’t mention Colmes’ name because I don’t want to embarrass the guy, but I heard Colmes on Fox this morning explaining this. (paraphrasing) “It’s not lack of interest. It’s not anything that you Republicans think it is. It’s simply the weather. Look, Charlotte’s not big enough for 74,000 people. They don’t have enough hotels, people to house them.” Well, when did you figure that out?

Now, ten times a year Bank of America stadium is sold out for the Carolina Panthers. It doesn’t matter whether rain or lightning is in the forecast. They show up. Charlotte can fill that stadium. Maybe more than that. I don’t know what else they use it for. They just can’t find the number of people that want to go. It’s no more complicated than that.

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RUSH: Ratings information. Day one, Democrat National Convention: NBC, down 24% from 2008. ABC, down 36% from four years ago. CBS Democrat National Convention coverage was down 45% from the same night four years ago. Now, that’s just the networks. We don’t yet have the cable numbers. Fox is probably going to lead the pack again.

But that’s pretty telling because that, again, reflects the vastly faded affection for Obama. Four years ago, he was the Messiah. You remember it, and I’m sure it scared you back then and it irritated you at the same time. But this massive devotion to somebody nobody knew anything about and they didn’t care to know anything about? It worried me about the country, people in the country; how easy it is to fall for somebody presented as perfection when we don’t know anything about them.

In fact, we did know. That’s the thing. We knew who Obama was. The media wasn’t telling anybody. It was really, really frustrating. So fast-forward four years. NBC, down 24%. ABC, down 36%. CBS, down almost by half (45%), which means the magic is gone, which means the excitement is gone. Now, we’ll have to compare Thursday night with Thursday night four years ago, of course. But there was massive anticipation. There was pent-up excitement four years ago — and it isn’t there.

It dovetails nicely with the fact that they just had to move Obama’s acceptance inside because they can’t find 73,000 people to put in that stadium. And because of Eastwood they can’t have any empty seats out there. That’s a joke that nobody can avoid making, including the Lenos and the Lettermans and so forth. They couldn’t risk it. There is no other event scheduled outside with the same weather forecast that would be cancelled. They wouldn’t cancel a baseball game. They wouldn’t cancel a football game. They wouldn’t cancel a picnic.

There’s no other event — same weather forecast, same place — that would be cancelled.

There’s a 30% chance of rain, which is just a seasonal statistical chance of rain.

They just don’t have the bodies.

They don’t have the people.

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RUSH: Folks, this moving the speech outdoors to indoors? This is one of the biggest… How can I phrase this? This is one of the most significant events involving Obama in the last six months. This is a huge thing.

Do not doubt me. I want you to imagine that you are Obama and you’re in the residence. You’re in the Oval Office today or whenever they made this decision. I don’t believe they made it this morning. I think they made this decision yesterday or the day before. Imagine you draw the responsibility of calling Obama and saying, “Sorry, sir. We have to move it indoors.”

(Obama impression) “Oh, yeah? Why?”

“Well, the weather forecast is for lightning, thunder.”

“Well, I don’t believe that. People walk through fire to see me and — and — and snow! What do you mean weather?”

“Sir, uh… We — we just, uh, can’t find the people.”

It all comes down to that. When you have the ego that Obama has (trust me, folks, I know of which I speak) you’re used to filling auditoriums, and you don’t fill them anymore? That’s big. It is not new. He has not been filling arenas of 18,000 and 20,000 in Ohio and Iowa. This is just the latest. The real world evidence: The ABC poll on women, the Hill poll yesterday (which I think accurately reflects interns at the White House), Obama’s approval at Gallup is 43%.

He’s become a joke. People are laughing at him. Empty chair! Now he can’t fill up the 73,000-seat “Black Panther” Stadium. This does not make for a healthy environment, and I’m telling you: When the crowds no longer show up, when you know you’re not drawing the crowds, that’s a sobering day. That is a tough reality to face. The unions didn’t pitch in. (interruption) They credentialed a lot of people? You mean media? (interruption) Yeah. (interruption)

Well… (sigh) I don’t know. Maybe some people are mad, people who were going and had tickets to go there. That’s why the excuse of the weather. But it doesn’t help them that the number one weather guy at NBC said, “This is the best night of the week forecast-wise. What are they doing?” The local NBC weather guy says it’s the best night of the week tomorrow night, Thursday night.

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RUSH: Here’s Rahm Emanuel. This is the funny thing. This is June 1st this year in Chicago.

It’s at a campaign fundraiser for President Obama and Rahm Emanuel — the ballerina, the Godfather — is introducing Obama.

EMANUEL: The president arrives; the rain stops.

FOLLOWERS: (hooting and cheering)

EMANUEL: The sun comes out!

FOLLOWERS: Yeah!

EMANUEL: Coincidence? I think not.

FOLLOWERS: (happy noises)

EMANUEL: He arrives, the sun is out, and things are moving again.

RUSH: Just two months ago, Obama shows up in Chicago and it’s raining. When he shows up, it stops raining. Rahm Emanuel says: “Coincidence? I think not.” He arrives. Sun’s out. I mean, if Obama can bring the sun out in Chicago in June, why can’t it he do the same thing in Charlotte in September? (chuckling)