RUSH: Here’s Mark in Las Vegas, as we go back to the phones. Thank you, sir, for calling. Hi.

CALLER: Pittsburgh Steelers dittos from the greatest city on earth, Rush.

RUSH: You know, what? I gotta tell you something. The Steelers’ preseason schedule was announced yesterday, every team’s was, and for the first time in I don’t know how many years not one Steelers preseason game will be televised nationally.

CALLER: Well, we’re opening up with the Giants. So no one’s gonna be watching anyways.

RUSH: Opening with the Giants and then, after the Giants, they’ve got Buffalo at Heinz Field, and then play the Eagles in Philadelphia, and they close against the Panthers, which they do every year. But it’s the first time. They’ve coming off two 8-8 seasons, and the national networks are saying, “You know, nobody wants to watch mediocre teams, and you are one.” So the Steelers… Now, when this generally happens, it’s when teams rebound. When the leagues predict that they’re gonna suck is when teams rebound. So Steelers fans can hold out hope because of that one decision made by the networks.

CALLER: Well, you know, you and I have spoken about the Steelers before. It was my phone call when you introduced the world to the Fort’iners, and that was our phone call back in Pittsburgh years ago, you and I.

RUSH: Is that right? (laughing)

CALLER: I remember! It was a Monday night. We were talking about Monday Night Football. This is like the eighth time I’ve got through to your show.

RUSH: Well, I’m glad you made it. How many years?

CALLER: You and I have spoken since the early Clinton administration.

RUSH: Wow, so 1992, 20 years.

CALLER: I also got to speak with Walter Williams on your show, Sean Hannity, and then the late great Tony Snow, when they were subbing in for you.

RUSH: Do you do anything else?

CALLER: Yeah, I do Elvis. I’m a reverend. I do Elvis as an entertainer out here in Las Vegas.

RUSH: Oh, you’re one of the Flying Elvi!

CALLER: I could be. I love to jump out of airplanes, but I always have at least one headphone in my ear listening to Rush no matter what else is going on.

RUSH: I appreciate that. I really do.

CALLER: I couldn’t go without it. The reason for my call is, I’m the one person who watches MSNBC, and I watch it religiously just ’cause it makes me laugh when I’m making tea in the morning. This morning they were talking about the powerful women of the Democrats and who could be the next president. Bill Kristol asked the panel, “Why is Hillary Clinton qualified?” There was not one answer the first time.

RUSH: Wait, wait.

CALLER: Go ahead.

RUSH: Hold it. Just a second. Did you say Bill Kristol was on MSNBC?

CALLER: This morning.

RUSH: Really?

CALLER: He was on that Morning Joe.

RUSH: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought he had a contract with Fox. I didn’t know that. That’s interesting. No big deal. I don’t watch NBC, and I’m not used to hearing about people like Bill Kristol appearing on it. Anyway, nobody could uld provide anything like qualifications for her?

CALLER: Not one person answered. They all sat there. It was almost like somebody hit a mute button, and towards end up of that little break, one of the other panelists — one of the men — said, “Well, we have a poll coming out and August,” and you’ll have all the answers to those questions. Kristol just sat there like the cat that ate the canary, ’cause he was right. He had them all nailed dead to rights, and he had ’em all just up against the wall, and not one had an answer. None of them!

RUSH: Look, everybody knows that I like Bill Kristol. But I have to tell you: When he goes public with predictions, count on the opposite thing happening. I say it with love and affection. It happens. I got real scared the other day because he said there is no way Jeb Bush is gonna get the nomination. There is no way. I said, “Bill, please, don’t say that. Let somebody else say it.”

CALLER: Well, in this case he did not predict. All he did was ask a question, which I’ve learned from you over the years is the best way to win the argument. Ask the question and let the person make their own judgment, and that’s how the people learn. He did that exact thing. He asked me ’em: Why is Hillary qualified? He asked it again. Not one answer on that panel. Not from liberal Joe, not from the blonde, not from anybody.

RUSH: Well, they have an answer. They just don’t have the guts to tell you what it is.

CALLER: Exactly. You can’t tell the truth, not about Hillary.

RUSH: I mean, she’s not qualified in the sense that you think of qualifications for president. But that’s not why she is in the top tier. They’re not gonna answer that question. Now, I’m surprised that they didn’t fake it. But if what you said happened — and I have no reason to doubt you. You’re an eight-time caller; you’ve talked to all the guest hosts. There’s no reason to doubt you.

I can’t believe they couldn’t come up with some fake answer to answer or explain why she is qualified. “Well, she’s spent so many years in the White House. She guided Bill Clinton.” Remember, he’s still popular with Democrats, so that could be a plus. “She helped guide Bill Clinton for (muttering) whatever it is. She’s expert on health care. She was secretary of state.” There are any number of things they could say; but they didn’t say anything.

Her primary achievement is that she was a doormat, and it is for that she is being rewarded. (interruption) Why are you laughing? The… (interruption) Well, they probably will go nuts. (interruption) Well, I’m gonna see. You know, I’ve got this ban on MSNBC. By the way, concomitantly with our ban, their ratings are in the literal toilet. You can’t see them. Yeah, but Kristol didn’t make that prediction about Jeb on MSNBC.

He did that wherever else he works. I could probably find the bite, and we could listen to the sound of silence as Kristol says, “Name her qualifications.” We could probably do that. But, see, their reason for thinking Hillary should be president has nothing to do with qualifications. It has to do with they think she can’t lose, number one. B, she’s owed it. C, they took it away from her in ’08 when it was literally promised to her.

There’s all kinds of things like this.

You know, she gave up half of her life to live in Arkansas. That’s probably top of the list.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Here we have it here, sound bite 28. This is not even really a violation of the ban on MSNBC ’cause there not much here. We had a caller say that Bill Kristol was on there demanding that any of the guests explain any achievement in politics that qualifies Hillary to be president, and nobody had any. It only takes 10 seconds here. I don’t understand that, but we got enough to give you an idea what happened. Here’s the bite. Stand by.

WILLIAM KRISTOL: One achievement, one sentence: What had Hillary Clinton done? What’s her achievement in politics that qualifies her to be president of the United States?

PANEL: (silence)

JOHN HEILMANN: Uhhh, I’m not going to do a Hillary Clinton ad.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Well, uh, we — we — You know, the thing is —

RUSH: I guess they went on and there was no noise after that. Nobody answered it — and there isn’t anything. What are they gonna say, she’s a doormat? She lived for eight years in Arkansas; that’s enough to qualify anybody for payback reasons? It’s a good question, actually. There aren’t any qualifications. Of course, what were Obama’s? (sigh) There was one.