RUSH: So what do you think? Put it out there, or just ignore it? All right. Well, let’s go ahead. I mentioned this earlier in the program, and I promptly forgot it, and I got people sending me e-mails, “What about that CNN thing you were talking about? You gonna play it?” I did Greta last night, and it was a full hour, and they got enough tape that there’s gonna be another full hour on Friday. The fact that I was on Fox last night for an hour was almost the lead story on CNN today.
We have three sound bites. Carol Costello, the former Rush stalker. Before she was an anchor, she was a reporter, and she had the Rush beat. And she had as her guest, Brian Stelter, who used to work at a TV blog and then got hired by the New York Times as a media expert. And I think he’s 16. I’m kidding. But he’s a very young man. And Carol Costello was puzzled that I would be on TV in the first place, I don’t do it. Then she puzzled that Fox would give me a whole hour when they don’t give politicians that. And that formed a foundation of the discussion. And then they concluded that I did this because I realize I’m gonna be gone in three years, career is gonna be over in three years, which they’ve been saying for 25 years, and that I’m desperately trying to put myself out there to save a flagging career, to show that I still can move people and audience meters and so forth.
Despite the fact that I told you why I did this yesterday. Look, Greta was on me like Weiner is on the phone. I’m telling you, for two weeks she was persuasive. I’d wake up in the morning and the first three e-mails I saw in the in box were from her, asking me, pleading with me to do this. And I like Greta, she’s a hard worker, and I decided to do it. Really, I did this in conjunction with nothing other than simply being nice to Greta. That was it. ‘Cause I don’t even like it, which didn’t air last night, but we talk about that in this interview, about why I don’t like TV. That will probably air Friday. So let’s go to the tape and let’s laugh at this together. Here’s Carol Costello. This is the first sound bite introducing this Brian guy from the New York Times.
COSTELLO: I just found it fascinating that Rush Limbaugh appears on Fox News for almost an entire hour. He never does that and he didn’t specifically talk about, you know, his business dealings, but he talked a lot about his politics and kind of bashed Obama for an hour, really, I mean, if you want to be honest about it.
RUSH: (imitating Costello) “If you want to be honest about it, all he did was bash Obama. He didn’t talk about his business deals.” What she means by that is that I clearly felt a need to do TV ’cause I’m losing all these radio stations. H.R., how often does CNN call asking me? Anderson Cooper and these people were calling all the time, NBC, ABC, we tell ’em “no” all the time. Now they’re calling in droves again since I did this. Anyway, she asked that question of Brian Stelter, the New York Times, here’s what he said.
STELTER: I kind of felt like it was a reminder that he is the top conservative talker out there. Look at him getting a whole hour on Fox News. Nobody ever gets that. Not even politicians get that, but Rush Limbaugh has been on for such a long time, more than 20 years, and there is some skepticism about whether he’s going to be as big in three, or four, or five years as he is today.
RUSH: Where is there that skepticism? It was totally invented. I don’t even know if we want to do this beyond the next two years. (interruption) Skepticism for prayers, mistaking the word. There’s some prayers that I’m not gonna be doing this in three to four years. That’s right, they’re praying. But I didn’t determine — you know, I sat down, I asked Greta, “How long is this gonna go?” She said about hour. I said, “Aw, jeez.” I was a prisoner in this, folks. I dictated nothing. I have nothing to do with any of it.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: As we continue our hilarity diversion, you laugh along here with CNN. This is the final sound bite of three as CNN is pulling its hair out today trying to understand how and why I would be given a full hour on Fox. I can’t wait when they find out that there’s gonna be another one Friday night, and then they’re gonna have to say, “What? Fox gave Limbaugh two hours!” Anyway, here it is, is Carol Costello and Brian Stelter of the New York Times.
COSTELLO: I also found it interesting that Fox would give Rush Limbaugh a platform, you know, for almost an entire hour. Why do you suppose the network did that?
STELTER: Roger Ailes, the chairman of Fox News, is close to Rush Limbaugh. And even though we don’t see Rush on television very often, whenever he is on television he goes on Fox. I think that has something to do with it, that friendship behind the scenes. Maybe Rush Limbaugh felt like he needed to remind everybody that he can still command an audience like that on television.
RUSH: Okay. So Stelter in the previous sound bite said, “And there’s a lot of prayers about whether or not Limbaugh’s gonna be as big in three or four or five years, as he is today,” and then, “maybe Limbaugh felt like he needed to prove he can still command an audience.” CNN doesn’t know what that is, commanding an audience. CNN doesn’t have the slightest idea what that means, nor do they know how to do it. That’s why they’re so fascinated with it. How is it done? (laughing) Anyway, I’m only playing those because I made the mistake of mentioning it at the top of the program, laughing about it, and I didn’t play ’em and started getting e-mail, so that’s it.