RUSH: Greetings my friends and welcome. It’s Rush Limbaugh, and our anniversary date (staff singing), 1st of August, starting our 27th year, the Excellence in Broadcasting Network. (clapping) And here is the anniversary cake that has just been presented to me by the staff. What a shock. What an absolute surprise. Could have seen this coming. You know how I knew it was coming? Because every year I ask for it not to be done. But I understand. I’m getting to the point now I appreciate it. I thank you all very much.

I’ll blow out the two candles (blowing candles out). I made a wish and the wish will now come true and there is the cake. Everybody saw the cake on the Dittocam. So there it is. Close-up shot. Here is the card presented by the staff. I have yet, of course, to open it.

But anyway, folks, it’s great to have you. Telephone number if you want to be on the program. 800-282-2882. Also Open Line Friday. We’ve got that to look forward to.

It’s a white trash cake, my favorite cake. Simple white cake. Publix. Yessirree, Bob.

Open Line Friday, whatever you want to talk about, have at it. 800-282-2882. If you want to be on the show.

We’re starting our 27th year, 26th anniversary, no big deal. We did a big deal on the 20th. A little bit of a big deal on the 25th. Twenty-six is just another year. But for some reason, when I think that I’m starting my 27th year, for some reason 27 seems a lot bigger than 26. Twenty-seven, that’s a long time. And No. 1 throughout that entire period, over a quarter of a century. Numero uno.

And you know why that is? That’s because of all of you who have been unwavering in your support of this program and have been there day in and day out and admit it when anyone asks. I cannot tell you how much that means. You will never know. The degree of success that I have had in my life that is expressly due to all of you is overwhelming. My parents, if they were alive, would not believe my life. And not just because I didn’t graduate from college. They wouldn’t believe it because in their day this kind of thing was something that happened to just a rare few number of people, and it was odds more than anything else.

But it has been just a dream come true. Every day is an adult Christmas for me. And I really, I really wish everybody could enjoy the same. I wish everybody could experience it. It’s one of these things, if I could pass it out or give it away, believe me, I would.

Now, what we’re going to do today, we’ve got our regular program, of course, but as far as the audio sound bites, we’re going to go back in time. We always do this on anniversary programs and relive some of the moments from what I call the Grooveyard of Forgotten Favorites. Cookie went out and found three fascinating sound bites from when I appeared on Firing Line the first time with William F. Buckley, Jr. He was one of my heroes, one of my idols.

It was in 1992, September 16th of 1992. So we were into the fourth year of the program, and even then I was warning people about what was going to happen with multiculturalism and the Washington Redskins team name, in 1992. I was warning, you will hear it. This is what I mean by being on the cutting edge of societal evolution. We have some other things from the past as well. We try to make them different every anniversary so we don’t repeat the same things.