Unofficial Summary of the Rush Limbaugh Show for Wednesday, June 8, 1994 by John Switzer This unofficial summary is copyright (c) 1994 by John Switzer. All Rights Reserved. These summaries are distributed on CompuServe and the Internet, and archived on CompuServe (DL9 of the ISSUES forum) and Internet (cathouse.org and grind.isca.uiowa.edu). WWW users can access http://neptune.corp.harris.com/rush.html The /pub/jrs directory at ftp.netcom.com contains the summaries for the past 30 days. Distribution to other electronic forums and bulletin boards is highly encouraged. Spelling and other corrections gratefully received. Please read the standard disclaimer which was included with the first summary for this month. In particular, please note that this summary is not approved or sanctioned by Rush Limbaugh or the EIB network, nor do I have any connection with them other than as a daily listener. ************************************************************* June 8, 1994 BRIEF SUMMARY OF TOPICS: NY murderer gets minimum sentence of only 25 years for killing 17 women; Super Soaker squirt gun amnesty program PSA; new sex survey by Alan Guttmacher Institute inspires Donna Shalala to call upon teens to "live with a caring adult"; Clarence "Frogman" Henry will be part of a Rock and Roll revival; Clinton says he wishes he had military experience because he grew up on war movies; Clinton claims his generation suffered more than any other about Vietnam because "we all love the military so much"; Clinton's 1969 letter shows he not only loathed the military but that he thought its actions were illegal; Clinton's poll ratings are down far lower than what would be expected with a recovering economy and D-Day events; Clinton's building a cross with stones on Omaha Beach was staged by White House aides; Deborah Oren reports that virtually every photo of Clinton at D-Day celebrations was carefully staged; Hillary praises France's state-run, socialist health care system; Clinton compares his political foes to fascists while in Italy talking to a real fascist; Clinton doesn't deny what's in Woodward's book, but rather defends his "process"; Rush criticizes the idea of welfare ATM cards because it just makes welfare easier and people more dependent; caller thinks Michael Kinsley was very disrespectful towards Oliver North on Crossfire; Rush lists differences between Oliver North and Bill Clinton; Rush is not thinking much about his retirement; Democratic National Committee says it will "understand" if Democrats running for re-election don't want to be associated with Bill Clinton; secret recording of "Bill Clinton" trying to help out Mario Cuomo; Denmark is now marrying same-sex couples; LAFD firefighter wins right to read Playboy on his own time in private quarters in the firehouse; FCC will not ban Joe Camel because there is no evidence that it encourages young people to smoke; after reading about new AMA study on second-hand smoke, Rush wonders if he was "abused" as a kid because his mother smoked; more women students are drinking to excess on college campuses; Robert Ruben claims Bush administration deceived Clinton on true size of deficit and that Clinton's policies are responsible for current economic recovery and low interest rates; caller upset that Rush is defending firefighter's right to read Playboy; because of caller demand, Rush reads the Sunday Times of London story on Jackie Onassis; British story on Jackie O. says things which would never be seen in an American paper; Woodward book quotes James Carville as asking where the hallowed ground is for Bill Clinton; if smokers are going to be taxed more for the Clinton health care plan, what will stop government from taxing skiers, meat eaters, AIDS victims, etc.?; caller got big radio talk show break because of previous call to Rush's show; story about father of dead Army Ranger was leaked to the press by someone at the meeting; caller notes that the American press is not bashing the President too much, but rather is still refusing to report all the facts about him. LIMBAUGH WATCH June 8, 1994 - It's now (allegedly) day 505 (day 524 for the rich and the dead) of "America Held Hostage" (aka the "Raw Deal") and 582 days after Bill Clinton's election, but Rush is still on the air with 640 radio affiliates (with more than 22 million listeners weekly world-wide), 234 TV affiliates (with a national rating of 3.7), and a newsletter with over 440,000 subscribers. His first book was on the NY Times hardback non-fiction best- seller list for 54 consecutive weeks, with 2.6 million copies sold, but fell off the list after Simon and Schuster stopped printing it. The paperback version of "The Way Things Ought To Be" was on the NY Times paperback non-fiction best-seller list for 28 weeks. Rush's second book, "See, I Told You So," was on the NY Times best-seller list for 16 weeks and has sold over 2.25 million copies. NEWS o Joel Rifkin, convicted of killing at least 17 women, most of whom were prostitutes, was sentenced in New York to the maximum possible sentence: 25 years to life. The judge said he gave Rifkin the maximum sentence because he never showed any remorse. Should Rifkin, who tried to plead insanity, be released after 25 years, he will have spent less than 1.5 years in jail per murdered victim. LEST WE FORGET The following are from the Rush Limbaugh show on Wednesday, June 10, 1992: o The air-powered Super Soaker Water Guns were considered a hazard by many people as they had been involved in a number of real shootings - kids got the wrong people wet, and those people responded by shooting a real gun. Predictably, instead of going after the people with the real guns, many liberals, such as the mayor of Boston, wanted to ban the squirt guns. Rush, however, was nevertheless concerned about this "crisis," so he promised to give out a Rush Limbaugh signature mug for every Super Soaker turned into the EIB offices by the end of the show on Friday. To promote his amnesty program for Super Squirters, Rush played a new public service announcement: "New York City - murder, drugs, crime. Now a new menace is stalking the streets of the Big Apple - high-powered, fully automatic assault squirt guns. On every street corner, even the youngest child has access to a wide range of water weaponry. From tiny, easily concealable 79 cent Saturday Night Special Squirters to 30 dollar state-of-the-art aquatic armaments like `the Super Soaker.' "There is no reason for the average citizen to own a squirt gun that can be loaded with over two liters of water. There is no legitimate sporting purpose to such a weapon. Now, in its continuing effort to keep America safer and drier, the EIB network offers its `Squirt Gun Amnesty Program.' "Send your Super Soaker to the EIB Network, c/o Rush Limbaugh, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121, and you'll receive in return a Rush Limbaugh, 14-carat gold-lettered signature mug. Another public service of the EIB network." Within an hour of Rush's announcement, Bo Snerdley rather timidly informed his boss that "there are two guys in the lobby with water guns that want their mugs." Bo didn't know what to do, telling Rush "I'm just looking for a directive, chief." Rush told Bo to get the guys' names and addresses, and the valuable mugs would be mailed to them. Bo then brought in the Super Soakers, and Rush was stunned as he realized that people seemed to be buying new squirters just so that they could get the EIB mugs. o Brazilian Indian Chief Paolino Payakin had been praised for years by the media and numerous environmental leaders for being a crusader against the destruction of the rainforest and the flooding of native homelands. Payakin was honored by the United Nations and appeared on the cover of Parade magazine, which reported he was "the man who would save the world" and was a role model for "all children of all nations." He had also met with U.S. congressmen in 1988 to protest the proposed flooding of Brazilian lands. However, in the shadow of the Earth Summit, Payakin was being sought by Brazilian police for the rape, torture, and attempted murder of an 18-year old high school girl. Brazilian's largest newsweekly Veja magazine reported that Payakin was hiding out in the Brazilian jungle, 2000 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro. The magazine also reported that the girl was a tutor of the chief's children, and was raped in a car after a barbecue at his house. Rush was confused - "house?" - "barbecue?" - "car?"; he didn't quite understand how this "proud Indian of South America," a representative of his land's indigenous peoples, a bulwark against the evil white man's civilization, and who stopped the white man's intrusion upon sacred lands, could be living in a house made of wood and driving a polluting car. Furthermore, the chief even had barbecues, which pollute the air and kill animals. According to Brazilian police, Payakin's wife held the 18-year old girl down while he raped her and bit off her nipple. The chief then tried to strangle the girl, but she was saved by a servant who heard her cries for help. Rush remarked that he was also amazed that the chief would have a servant. The accusations against Payakin stunned Earth Summit attendees, who expected the chief to speak at the Summit. Another Indian chief, who along with Payakin had won the UN Global 500 Award for his efforts to protect the environment, refused to speak against a "man who has fought hard for our peoples." Rush noted that Payakin might be protecting the environment, but somebody obviously had to protect the peoples from him and his wife. o CNN reported that the Earth Summit was ignoring the "world's greatest problem: overpopulation." CNN also stated that pure water was being ignored even though 2 million children were dying each year because of dehydration. Furthermore CNN claimed that the life-styles in the Third World were "cultural beauty and oneness with nature," but Rush noted in the United States these life-styles were typically called poverty and despair. The idea that primitive life-styles were somehow more sacred and preferable to a life-style that used technology was absurd, especially since this technology allows humanity to do things like put out forest fires that 200 years ago would have burned unabated. Rush couldn't believe that anyone would think that high-rise buildings and air conditioning would make modern man less pure than a bare-footed savage who drinks dirty water that will give him a disease. o However, there was also some good news about the Earth Summit - finally, the US was telling the rest of the world to shut up. Anne Devroy of the Washington Post wrote that the Bush administration "struck back with a vengeance yesterday, accusing the nations of the world of having an `Amerika' mentality." Devroy also wrote that Germany and Japan were following a guilt- induced practice of being politically correct. Michael Young of the State Department said that the US objected to language that gave poor nation "rights" to development, and which targeted poor people under occupation (i.e. Arabs in Israeli-occupied land). Young also objected to the idea that developing nations had to pay the entire tab for this Summit's proposals. o The Tacoma Morning News Tribune reported that Maryland decided to fight its rising teenage pregnancy rates with an ad campaign that stressed abstinence. One of the ads in this series, for example, showed a baby with the narrator saying "it's amazing how many guys disappear when one of these shows up." Since the ads started in 1989, the state saw a 5% drop per year in teenage pregnancies, and an overall drop of 16% in abortions. o Pat Robertson decided not to buy United Press International because "the economics do not make good sense." Rush wondered if the liberals who worked at UPI, and who opposed Robertson's proposed takeover, would breathe a sigh of relief and say "now we don't have to worry about a religious conservative owning our organization; instead, we can start collecting unemployment." o Some new bumper music reminded Rush of the fall of 1982, when he ended up at a Renaissance Festival with his then fiancee. Rush didn't particularly enjoy standing outdoors in the heat, but he agreed to go because there was an NFL players strike going on. He hoped that EIB's new bumper music brought back memories "as happy" as that one. o Some Democrats were concerned that a replica of the jersey worn by former NBA player Bill Bradley was hanging in Madison Square Gardens, site of the upcoming Democratic national convention. These Democrats wanted to pull the jersey down for the convention because they were concerned that it would give Bradley an unfair advantage in the quest for the Vice Presidential nomination (or should Clinton somehow slip up, an unfair advantage for the Presidential nomination). o John from San Francisco, who said he hadn't listened to Rush for two years, was convinced that Rush had become "Bush Limbaugh" and had "sold out to the administration." According to John, Rush as so rich that he had become alienated from the 40% of his audience who was going to vote for Perot and thereby "knock the pants off of Bush and all you administration lackeys - the once maverick, the once advocate of every Reagan Democrat in the nation, you've sold out to the Bush man. And I'm here to call you back into the fold, Rush, and tell you not to underestimate the power of Perot." o In bad news for Governor Tommy Thompson (R-WI) and all conservatives, a Minnesota state appeals court ruled against the state's plan to pay newly arrived residents only the welfare amounts offered by their previous state. The court ruled that not only must new residents be paid what other residents are receiving, but that those welfare recipients who were paid less must be reimbursed. ******** MORNING UPDATE The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a wing of Planned Parenthood, has released another teen sex survey and so far the most widely reported aspect of the survey is that there's less teen sex than previously expected. However, this is not the most important revelation of the survey, as far as Rush is concerned; rather, 60% of girls who had sex before the age of 15 said they were coerced into having sex, often by a much older man. This has outraged Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, who said "we as a nation have to work together to send the strongest possible signal that all teens, boys and girls, should be abstinent, stay in school, and live with a caring adult." Rush wonders just what Shalala means by "a caring adult"; why didn't she just say "parents"? This is another attempt to redefine the family, so that family can mean anything - a family no longer means just people related by blood, but anyone, such as the San Francisco chapter of Dykes on Bikes. And while Shalala is insisting that boys and girls be abstinent, Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is talking about how kids should be enjoying sex, as long as they have condoms. So which is it, Rush asks the Clinton administration - should kids be abstinent or should they have sex? And has anyone in the Clinton administration ever heard of "parents"? FIRST HOUR Items o Rush wonders whether EIB should start counting the days until the November elections, as well as the days of the Raw Deal; after all, if Republicans win more seats in November, the Raw Deal would effectively be stymied, given that Clinton would no longer have the slim margins of victory which he had been getting. Of course, since it took EIB a year to get its days of the Raw Deal correct, Rush isn't sure if they could get the right answer for the few months until the November elections. Bo Snerdley hangs his head in shame over his mathematical failings, but Rush tells him not to feel bad since everyone at EIB had trouble with these calculations. "Math is tough," Bo says in his best Barbie voice, and Rush agrees; of course, EIB should be grateful that there aren't any women on the staff because if there had been a "girl" present, they'd still be looking for the right figure. After all, as the feminists have said, math class is tough. o Clarence "Frogman" Henry will be performing as part of a Rock and Roll revival in New Jersey Saturday, so Rush hopes to play his Homeless Update some time today to honor the Frogman's appearance. o Rush saw an incredible clip during the production meeting of his TV staff yesterday, but he doesn't think too many people have seen it yet. The clip was part of an interview NBC's Tom Brokaw did of President Clinton during the D-Day ceremonies, and in the clip, Clinton stated the following: "There are plenty of times when I wish I had the experience, because I, after all, am a child of WWII. I grew up on the war movies, you know, on John Wayne and John Hodiak, and Robert Mitchum, and all those war movies. I grew up with the memories of a father I never knew, with a picture of his uniform on in WWII. What I'm doing this week has brought me back to my roots in a very profound way. You and I are about the same age and you know what I'm talking about. There's nothing that can compare with it, and I think that all the people who grew up in my generation were hurt maybe worse than any other generation could have been by their ambivalence over Vietnam because we all love the military so much." Rush can't believe the brazenness of this remark; "this man is shameless," he remarks, certain now more than ever that Bob Woodward's book is giving an accurate picture of Clinton and his White House. Clinton has to have a pathology in order to be able to say something like this, especially given what most Americans think about Clinton, his past, and his past and present feelings towards the military. Rush reads parts of the letter the Clinton wrote in December 3, 1969 to Colonel Eugene Holmes, head of the ROTC program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock: "I am writing too in the hope that my telling this one story will help you to understand more clearly how so many fine people have come to find themselves still loving their country but loathing the military, to which you and other good men have devoted years, lifetimes, of the best service you could give. To many of us, it is no longer clear what is service and what is disservice, or if it is clear, the conclusion is likely to be illegal." Thus, Clinton considered the military to be illegal in its actions, and he loathed it. So for Clinton to claim he grew up as a child of WWII because he watched John Wayne war movies is outrageous. These movies all ended up with everyone being a hero, earning the glory; these movies highlighted the heroism of those who were fighting and dying in WWII. It seems that it's the accolades and cheers Clinton undoubtedly relates to, yet these movies were fake, full of actors and dummy bullets. Yet it is with they with whom Clinton apparently identifies. Rush replays the clip of Clinton and finds it amazing that Clinton is feeling sorry for himself and his own generation. Yet Clinton and his friends reviled the military and held it and those in it in contempt; perhaps Clinton had his eyes opened his weekend and something got to his heart, but Rush has his doubts. Clinton also said he "wished" he had the experience of serving in the military, and Rush wonders if Clinton said this because he wanted some of the glory for himself. The fact is, though, that those in the military do not love war; they hope and pray they never have to fight one. The important thing about these people, though, is that when they are called upon to serve in war, they go, even though they hate war and certainly don't enjoy it. This is what makes them special, not because they have a "sense of duty," as Stephanopoulos remarked recently. Clinton still doesn't seem to have the foggiest idea about what motivates those in the military or why they are to be hailed and honored. When called upon to serve, they do so, even though they are doing things they despise and hate doing. Clinton, though, still doesn't understand this, and Rush sees no evidence that he has changed his opinion of the military from his youthful days at Oxford. Speaking of Oxford, Clinton is getting his honorary degree there today, and Rush finds this interesting - Clinton has just spent a week with men and women reliving their war experiences. Today, Clinton is going back to Oxford to relive his war memories - leading protests against the United States and its military - and it's ironic that he was greeted by student protestors himself. Clinton's approval ratings are lower than they've been for nearly a year, and his disapproval ratings are higher than the approval numbers. And this is the case after four days of ceremonies and publicity which would, for most Presidents, generate a spike in the poll ratings. If the economy were not as strong as it is, Clinton's approval rating would be in the teens. Rush has talked to those experienced with politics and polls, and they told him that a good economy is worth about 30 to 35 points in the polls. The party-line supporters add another 30 points or so, which means Clinton should be at 60 to 70 in the polls, but he's down at 46% right now. Rush adds that it's been revealed that the widely seen pictures of President Clinton at the beach at Normandy were staged, which is interesting given that the White House had for weeks previously been insisting that Clinton's D-Day trip would not be about him but about the men and women of D-Day. However, this was not the case, as Rush will explain after the break. *BREAK* On his TV show tonight, Rush will show the video of President Clinton walking, apparently alone, along Omaha Beach at Normandy, lost in thought. He stopped and made a cross out of some stones that just happened to be there, and then knelt in prayer. What really happened, though, was that White House aides had previously walked the beach, found a spot near the preset TV cameras which had a good location of a battleship off shore, and placed the stones on the beach. Deborah Oren of the NY Post also reports that virtually every photo of the D-Day was especially calculated and set up by White House officials in advance. And when Clinton built his cross, he was surrounded by White House aides, just outside of camera range. One photographer was angry at how Clinton usurped the D- Day events; this celebration was supposed to be in honor of the veterans, yet Clinton used it to make himself look good every chance he got. Phone Mary from Rockland County, NY Mary gives megadittos and says both she and her husband heard the Brokaw interview of Clinton. Her husband, a Navy lifer who enlisted when he was 17, was "jumping up and down" in anger when he heard Clinton talking as if he loved the military. Mary also thanks Rush for bringing health care to the attention of the American people, and she notes that insurance companies have already been slowly turned into health maintenance organizations; this means that the country is halfway towards what Clinton wants to do. Thus, she figures that since people have already gotten used to getting less with health care, the shock of the Clinton plan won't be as much. Rush agrees - hospitals and doctors have already been aligning themselves into HMOs and similar groups in anticipation of the Clinton plan. *BREAK* Rush has been criticized for being "extreme" in referring to the Clinton plan as "socialism," yet yesterday, when Hillary Clinton was in Paris, she praised France's state-run health system. "State-run," Rush notes, is a synonym for socialism, and Hillary praised this socialist system which reimburses people for their health care costs. Hillary, of course, want to go this system one better - instead of people paying for their own care and getting reimbursed by the government, as is the case in France, she wants to give the people a Health Security credit card so that the government will take care of the bill directly (after taxing the people for the money, of course). Hillary said "what struck me was that whomever I spoke with, whatever their political beliefs, was happy with the way children are taken care of. There is so much the United States can learn from that kind of commitment." Rush lets that comment stand by itself. Phone Gayle from St. James, NY Gayle read a story about how when Clinton was in Italy, he compared his political foes to fascists. She was upset that Clinton would criticize his enemies this way in a foreign country. Rush notes that Clinton at the time was meeting with a fascist, the new President of Italy, and it's amazing that Clinton will call someone like Rush a fascist, and then turn around, meet a real fascist, and have nothing but praise for him. Gayle is upset about this hypocrisy and suspects that the Clintons are trying to keep the people off-base with such things so that they can't follow the really important stuff. Rush isn't sure about this; he used to believe that Bill was just as big a leftist as Hillary, and that they both were pushing for a leftist agenda. However, the Woodward book has caused him to rethink his theory. Rush notes that when Clinton was asked about Woodward's book, he didn't deny anything in it but basically said that it was a shame Woodward didn't like his "process." Clinton said he preferred to have debates and meetings with his staff so as to get more ideas; however, the Presidency is supposed to be a position of leadership, not consensus, and the White House staff is supposed to be full of people who agree with the President and who exercise his agenda and vision. Woodward's book, though, points out that the administration is in disarray, without any apparent vision coming from the President. Yet in spite of this the administration is still managing to move the country to the left. Rush thus is beginning to believe that Hillary really is running things in the White House, with Clinton being the bumbler whose purpose is to get elected. According to Woodward, Hillary is the one who keeps everyone focused and on target for the ultimate goals. So Rush might have to revise his theory about how much influence Hillary has. Phone Anita from Lafayette, LA Anita agrees with most of what Rush says but thinks Rush is hard on welfare mothers. She's been in the welfare office and seen some well-dressed "welfare moms," but she herself is on all the welfare programs because her husband left her and her family. She doesn't like being on welfare, AFDC, food stamps, and Medicare and is working hard to get off them. Rush congratulates Anita for this, and notes that when he criticized the idea of giving welfare recipients ATM cards, he wasn't talking about people like Anita, who he believes typifies most of those on welfare who are looking for a way out of this dependence. The government's welfare policies should be structured to help people get out of it, so making welfare easier and more convenient only does a disservice for these people. Rush notes that the way the ATM cards will work is that the government will deposit someone's benefit checks into a state-run account. The recipients can go out with their ATM card and spend money. However, when they've used up their allotment, they have to wait until next month's checks come in. But what will government do when these people use their ATM cards like credit card and spend through their money in five days? If it's a stigma and embarrassment to use food stamps, then what about the stigma of presenting an ATM card at the grocery store, only to be told that there aren't sufficient funds in the account to cover the purchases? Rush thinks this is not only inhumane, but a government trick to make welfare easy. But welfare should be tough, with people being motivated to get off it. *BREAK* Phone Salvatore from Meridian, CT Salvatore gives Rush dittos and "lots of luck on your new bride," and Rush appreciates that, although it sounds like Salvatore is reminding Rush to send in his warranty card for his new bride so he can send her back if something goes wrong. Salvatore thinks Michael Kinsley was incredibly disrespectful last night on Crossfire to Oliver North, but what's worse, as far as he's concerned, is how so many Republicans are antagonistic against North. Rush says part of this is that the mainstream Republicans fear that North and his grass roots strength threaten their power base, plus there's some class bias at work here, given that North is not part of the patrician wing of the party. These Republicans who seem worried about North, however, are misreading the mood of the people; they seem to think the people want conciliatory, non-confrontational politicians, but this is not the case. The Republican party was at its height in the 80s, when the differences between it and the Democrats were stark and clear, and when Ronald Reagan was taking the Democrats on in battle every day. Oliver North, like Ronald Reagan, doesn't do one thing to be like a Democrat or to be liked by Democrats, yet some Republicans seem not to care about his example. It's almost as if some of the Republican leaders just want to keep their little seat of power, without carrying if they're ever in the majority or win all the battles. Rush notes, by the way, that there are many things that are known about Oliver North. He was never sued for sexually harassing someone, and Fawn Hall had nothing but the greatest respect for him. Plus, if you vote for Ollie, you get Betsy for free - there are no two-for-one deals here. Ollie has never cashed in his stamps for money and his wife never traded cattle futures. And Ollie, of course, never did have the courage to duck the draft. "These are all things we know about Ollie," Rush notes, and he sighs because "if the media never stops picking on Ollie, how are we ever going to get good people to run for Congress?" *BREAK* Rush saw an ad in the paper for his second book - if you buy a copy of "See, I Told You So" for Father's Day, you can enter a contest about how you and your father are big fans of Rush. The winner gets tickets for the Rush Limbaugh TV show, which is sold out for the rest of the year. Phone Aaron from Jefferson, OH Aaron wants to ask Rush what he's planning to do with his life when he gets tired of doing radio and TV talk shows. Rush says "retired - what you think I am, Larry King?" Rush notes in an aside that the conventional wisdom is that King retired from radio because he was tired, but that wasn't the case at all. In any case, Rush never thinks about retirement, but one thing he does know is that he definitely does not want to go into politics; he's never had any aspirations to run for office and can't ever imagine that changing. The only thing Rush has ever said about leaving radio is that when the day comes, he wants to be the one who makes that decision. He doesn't want to be left with a handful of stations, still pathetically telling himself he can make a comeback. Thus, whatever he does, he wants to remain in charge of his future and career. Rush admits he has gotten very good at taking vacations, but even as he's out and about he's still thinking about how he can relate his experiences to his audience. He has yet to really think much about his retirement, except perhaps to muse on where he'd like to live. *BREAK* SECOND HOUR Items o The Washington Times is reporting that the Democratic National Committee "will understand distance" (i.e. Democratic candidates distancing themselves from Clinton by running away from him). The story by Donald Lambro reports that the DNC is telling candidates that it will not penalize them for trying to avoid being linked with Clinton, given last month's losses of two long-term Democratic congressional seats to Republicans who had successfully tarred their opponents as being Clinton supporters. The Democrats are afraid that Republicans will continue to use this strategy for the fall elections. Political Director of the DNC Don Switzer <> is quoted as saying "there are clearly some areas of the country where it is not going to benefit a candidate to associate himself with Bill Clinton. And if you want us to stay away, we'll stay away." However, DNC Chairman David Wilhelm was on the Today show this morning with Paula Zhan, and he said he hadn't seen this quote, which he implied was untrustworthy since it appeared in a "right-leaning" newspaper. When asked if the quote was true, Wilhelm said "absolutely not," adding that he was encouraging candidates to run proactive campaigns with the President. "We have a record to be proud of," he insisted, saying that Clinton had created 3 million new jobs, three times the number of the Bush administration, had cut the federal deficit in half, had passed the National Service Act, and was about to pass the National Crime Bill. "We're making a difference in people's lives - that's a record to run on and be proud of," Wilhelm added. Rush therefore wonders what Don Switzer is talking about, and he suspects that Mr. Switzer's career will have an abrupt change in the next couple days, if not hours (or even minutes). However, Rush has long been predicting that Democrats would run away from President Clinton, and as proof he plays an episode of "Behind the Scenes At the Clinton White House" which was originally aired more than six months ago: <> And now, another edition of "Behind the Scenes at the Clinton White House." <> Give me Governor Cuomo on line two! <> Hey, Mario, good buddy! <> Bill, forget it! <> Listen, Mario, I need your help on this health care bill. <> Stay away! <> If you could just go around the state with me next month, and help me sell it to the voters, it would sure be a lot of help! And there'll be lots of photo-ops in it for you! You and me, just standing there smiling <> <> Bill, I'm grateful for your kind and generous offer, but let's face it, you've got so much on your plate already . . . you got health care to worry about, NAFTA, Somalia . . . <> Tell you what, if you help me out, I'll campaign as hard as I can, all over the state! <> Thanks, but no thanks . . . look at what happened to Dinkins and Florio! You think I'm crazy? Stay away! Look what happens to the people you go near, they sink the minute you get there! Look, let's face it, you're not popular . . . you're not popular. And the way for you to get popular is to stay away from me! <> Mario? Mario?! Mario?? <> Join us next time for another edition of "Behind the Scenes at the Clinton White House." o Rush reads a story from Copenhagen, Denmark: "The bride wears an ankle-length skirt and matching blouse. Her fiancee is dressed in black. It's a simple, civil wedding at City Hall - no flowers, no music, much like countless others performed over the decades. But this is a wedding of two women. Smiling, but a bit nervous, they stand before a city official who's donned a flowing robe for the occasion. "`I ask you, Annette Lin,' the official says softly, `do you take Hanna Poulson to be your lawful partner?' She does. `Likewise, I ask you, Hanna Poulson, do you take Annette Lin to be your lawful partner?' Yes. `I pronounce you,' the official declares, `registered partners.' "The brides clasp hands and exchange affectionate glances. `Hanna is the only one I've loved in my life,' confides Ms. Lin, beaming proudly at her spouse. `If she were a boy, I'd love her the same!' " Rush thinks about this for a minute, but just can't believe that "you may now kiss your registered partner" will fly. Denmark, by the way, is a model country for many liberals, such as Ted Kennedy. o In good news that shows there is some sanity in the country, Los Angeles County firefighter Captain Steve Johnson will be allowed to read Playboy at the firehouse. A female firefighter had sued him for sexual harassment, but a U.S. District Judge in a preliminary ruling stated that First Amendment protections would allow Captain Johnson to read the magazine in his private quarters at the firehouse during his breaks in his 24-hour shifts. The judge will issue his final ruling later this week. Rush thinks sexual harassment really got off the deep end when female firefighters successfully convinced county officials that reading Playboy while off-duty constituted sexual harassment. Fortunately, Captain Johnson sued, refusing to accept the decision. o FCC regulators will not ban cartoon character Joe Camel, which anti-smoking activists claim encourages young people to smoke. However, the FCC, in a 3 to 2 vote, said it could not find any evidence that the R.J. Reynolds campaign did in fact encourage young people to smoke. Rush finds it interesting that "old Joe" has survived on the same day that the AMA has announced that second-hand smoke is deadlier than ever to women, especially pregnant women. Rush wonders if he should sue his mother and grandmother for smoking since he grew up surrounded by second-hand smoke coming from all the female members of his household. The EIB staff think Rush was indeed "abused," and he agrees. After all, he was just a little boy, and was assaulted beyond belief by this deadly, horrible smoke. "Look out, mom, I'm coming after you!" Rush warns, promising that he'll soon file suit because she poisoned him with her smoking. Rush admits that he turned out fine, even though his mother did smoke and was around women who smoked when she was pregnant with both him and his brother. Of course, while Rush did turn out fine, his brother David is another matter, so perhaps the AMA can use him as an example to show what can happen when you smoke around kids. "Just kidding," Rush quickly states, knowing full well that his brother the lawyer can bring lawsuits, too. He points out that both he and his brother are just fine, so if second-hand smoke is really so bad, why isn't everyone dying from it? o Women are drinking to excess more than ever on college campuses, with the number of such women tripling over the past 20 years, according to the National Commission on Substance Abuse. The number of women who drink to get "blitzed" has nearly approached that of men, with binge drinking (five drinks in one night) being the worst drinking problem on college campuses, with alcohol being involved in most college-life problems, such as rape, AIDS, crime, and academic difficulties. Rush knows some people who own beer distributorships, and they've told Rush that once the left is finished with cigarettes, they'll come after the beer industry next. Rush has no doubt that this will be what happens, as yet more freedoms are nibbled away by those in government. He finds it interesting, though, that more women are drinking to excess today, and he wonders if three times as many women are really getting blind drunk today than in 1970, then is it three times easier for college males to . . . ? *BREAK* Phone Brice from Ouray, CO Brice watched Bob Woodward and Robert Ruben on Larry King last night, and Rush says he saw this show, too, and couldn't believe what Ruben was saying. Brice heard a caller who had just graduated from college with a degree in economics point out that it took two years for any economic policy to have any effect, but Ruben insisted that Clinton's economic policies were different and that they were responsible for the current good economic news. Rush says that Ruben is just blowing smoke, and Brice agrees; the thing is that Ruben doesn't realize that most Americans are seeing through this now. Rush says Ruben was wrong about a lot of things, such as his claim that the Clinton plan was what was responsible for the low interest rates that spurred an economic recovery. However, interest rates are now higher than they were than when Clinton took office, plus Clinton had nothing to do with the previous low interest rates, given that Alan Greenspan had been lowering them for two years before Clinton took office. Ruben also insisted that when Clinton took office in January, 1993, they had been deceived by the Bush administration as to the true size of the deficit. He thus claimed that the Clinton administration had no choice but to push through a deficit reduction plan, which was responsible for the lower deficit. Rush blew up when he heard this because the administration's "deficit reduction" plan included a $20 billion economic stimulus package which would have sent the deficit soaring. And it was the Republicans who defeated this stimulus plan, thereby helping to keep the deficit lower, so the deficit would be higher than it is now had Clinton got what he wanted. Plus, Clinton, Ruben, and Alice Rivlin all knew the true state of the nation's deficits, and in Woodward's book Rivlin even pointedly states that the Clinton campaign misrepresented the deficit to the American people. She even told Paul Begala that the Clinton campaign had been dishonest with its statements on the deficit, yet Ruben last night was acting as if he were back in January, 1993, telling the same lies he told then. However, Rush is encouraged to see that these lies aren't being accepted anymore, which is one reason Clinton's approval ratings are dropping. And for Ruben, who made a killing in Goldman-Sachs to tell such lies about the economics is simply brazen. Brice adds that Ruben referred to "solid growth and moderate inflation" several times, and Rush guesses that this is what the administration thinks is going on now. Brice says that this seems to be the new Clinton slogan, given that Ruben repeated it time and time again. Rush admits that Ruben has to spout the company line, but his claims last night about interest rates, the economy, and the deficit have been refuted time and time again. Even when Alice Rivlin has been telling the administration it can't lie about such things anymore, people like Ruben seem determined to do precisely that. *BREAK* Phone Sam from Ft. Collins, CO Sam says she thinks that the NOW organization should be tickled pink that women college students have achieved alcohol parity with men. Rush bets NOW will blame this on men, and Sam agrees - undoubtedly the male students were buying the women drinks. Phone Melissa from Newport News, VA Melissa is honored to be talking to Rush, but takes exception with his support of the firefighter who wants to read Playboy. She used to work in a nuclear engineering department, and daily she would go into someone's office and see a Playboy magazine or poster. She thinks this is incredibly humiliating, and she stresses that she's not a feminist, but a traditional stay-at- home mom. Melissa asks Rush if he'd like his "little bride" or his mother to experience this sort of humiliating thing. Rush notes that his mother bought Playboy to read his interview in it, but Melissa thinks this is altogether different. Rush says he is being guided not by a love of Playboy but by a desire for safeguarding constitutional rights. This firefighter was reading the magazine in his private quarters during his breaks, and it's not sexual harassment, as a female firefighter claimed. Melissa doesn't think it's sexual harassment either, but it is uncalled for behavior in his office, especially when there are females working there. She doesn't think Rush understands how embarrassing this is. Rush says he does understand Melissa's point, but thinks she's wrong. He admits he's tempted to call his "little wife" to ask her if she would be bothered by a coworker reading Playboy. He asks Melissa if she thinks anyone should be reading Playboy anywhere, and she says she doesn't like it all, but still thinks reading it is uncalled for in the workplace. Rush asks if it's okay if guys read Playboy without Melissa or other females knowing about it, and she replies that it would be fine in the men's restroom. However, this is not what happened when she worked at the nuclear plant, and it's one thing to read this magazine in a car but another to read it in the workplace. Rush notes that some women could be just as easily offended by his own books as they would be by Playboy, so does this mean that his book should be banned from the workplace, too? Melissa thinks these are totally different works which can't be compared. Rush, though, points out that in a First Amendment rights sense, they are the same, given that neither has been declared obscene. Melissa, though, thinks that it's ridiculous that anyone would complain about Rush's book being read in their presence since "your book doesn't have pictures of `nekked' people in it yet!" Rush admits he doesn't have "nekked" posters of himself, but, ever on the lookout for more merchandising ideas, asks Melissa if she would buy such a poster if EIB offered it. "Oh, Rush! Absolutely not!" Melissa replies, and Rush tells his staff to forget that addition to the EIB catalog. Melissa says she's just a regular person who thinks reading Playboy in the workplace is uncalled for. Rush notes that this incident concerns the firefighter's private quarters, which means someone has to go out of their way to see it. Melissa says she saw the same magazine in her nuclear engineering department, and she doesn't think she should have to see this sort of thing at work. Rush says that he would dare suggest that if workers at a nuclear facility are reading Playboy, then there are bigger problems at that workplace than their reading of a soft-porn magazine. What people should be objecting to is reading when they should be working. Rush understands Melissa's sensibilities, but he doesn't think that women should be able to claim that what men do in private is bothering them. Melissa still doesn't agree because this is uncalled for behavior in the workplace. She says that if someone can read Playboy in the firehouse, then they can read it at the bank. Rush says that a bank manager reading Playboy would be inappropriate behavior, but not sexual harassment, which is what the lawsuit concerning Captain Johnson was all about. *BREAK* Phone Eileen from Blue Eye, MO Eileen heard Rush on Monday mention a story about Jackie Kennedy Onassis, but he didn't explain further. Rush says the May 29th Sunday Times of London had this story, which is not very nice at all to the recently canonized Jackie O. Eileen says the truth about her should be told. Rush says the story is really mean, and he wonders if anyone really wants to hear it. Eileen says she wants to hear it and is certain that many Americans want to hear it because it's time that somebody told the truth about Jackie Kennedy after 30 years. Rush doesn't know if the story is the truth, but it's obvious that this story would never be printed in the U.S. Eileen says that this is because the American press is so much in love with the Kennedy family that they'd never write anything unfavorable. The Kennedys are akin to America's royalty. Rush says he'll think about this over the next few minutes and if he decides to read the story, he'll do so in the first part of next hour. He warns people, though, that many of those who think they want to hear this story will be shocked at what the British press can get away with. *BREAK* Phone Bobby from Atlanta, GA Bobby notes that the June, 1994 issue of Playboy includes six nude women firefighters, and the story is titled "Some Like It Hot." Rush stresses that he didn't know this, and exclaims "Hey, Melissa, is that what you're upset about?!" Rush hears a phone ring by Bobby and asks if he's reading Playboy at work; Bobby admits he's not reading the magazine, but he is at work and is looking at it right now. Rush asks if the females Bobby works at are upset about his reading Playboy, and Bobby says that a woman in the other room thinks "it's a hoot." In fact, she was the one who brought it in - it was her boyfriend's, and she wanted Bobby to call Rush to talk about it. Bobby adds that if anyone should be filing sexual harassment charges, it should be the firefighters who work with these women. Rush doesn't understand, so Bobby explains that these poor men have to see these women fully clothed every day, knowing they've seen them naked in the magazine. Rush finally sees Bobby's point, and stresses that he had trouble understanding this because "I'm not oriented to these things." "Yeah, right," Bobby replies, and he adds that one of the women is a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service. Rush is surprised to hear that the Forest Service has firefighters, and Bobby insists this is true because "she's hugging some kind of tree - honest, there's a picture here of her hugging some kind of tree!" Rush asks what kind of work Bobby does, and he replies that he's in the construction business. Rush is not surprised, and Bobby adds that he does industrial furnaces. Rush is not surprised about this either, given that Bobby seems to be the kind of guy who's regularly stoking the furnaces. *BREAK* THIRD HOUR Phone Barbara from Manhattan, NY Barbara wants to hear the Jackie Onassis story because Rush promised to read it on Monday and because she is curious to hear what the American papers won't report about the Kennedys. Rush says that he shouldn't have teased his audience about this story because he has a problem with such "trash" stories; there are similar stories written about him all the time and some people believe this stuff. Barbara says that there have been too many "saint" stories about Jackie O. so she'd like to get some balance to them. Rush is not still convinced, so he does a conference call with Rich from Lamont, IL who doesn't think this story should be read. Phone Rich from Lamont, IL Rich says that Rush shouldn't read this story because it will damage Rush's credibility, given that it will lower him to the tabloid level. Barbara thinks Rich is sweet to be worried about Rush, but she adds "I'm not worried about you, Rush!"; she just wants to hear the dirt about Jackie O. and thinks the story would be entertainment, not news. Rich says he's seen the things the London papers write, and the truth doesn't bother them, nor do they have any mercy. Rush notes that the Sunday Times of London is not a tabloid "Fleetstreet Rag"; it is a respectable sort of paper. Barbara, though, says Rush promised he'd read this story, so he should follow through on his promise. Rush asks Rich if he thinks the story could be read if he stressed that it was a story from the London Times and not his own personal opinions. Rich says he was going to suggest this, with Rush acting like a reporter who's reading someone else's material, so that listeners don't think the story is Rush's opinion. Barbara thinks this is a great idea, and points out that she's not going to be that willing to believe everything in this story but she does want to hear it for herself. Rush decides to read the story while both Rich and Barbara are on the line, so that should they feel he's gone too far with it or read too much, they can stop him. The story, written by Julie Burchhill, starts off by noting that "only a country as deeply trashy as America could ever have mistaken the Kennedys as royalty." It then states that when Jackie O. was buried next to JFK in Arlington, "the best you could say about the golden couple is that they deserved each other - now they sleep, side by side, in the cold bed of infinity, but a bed no colder probably than any one they ever shared." The story goes on to report that Jackie O. buried "two husbands, both of them worthless, and a brother-in-law who was at least and possibly a great man." The paper, though, says that the funeral which showed the nation the "real Jackie Onassis" was that of Eleanor Roosevelt in 1962: "Impeccably aristocratic, Eleanor Roosevelt had revolutionized the foolish role of the First Lady, making good use of it for her country and being loved for it. Jackie never liked her. She described her as `pig-headed, mean, and spiteful' and vacated the White House whenever she visited. Eleanor Roosevelt's death was an occasion of national mourning at which John Kennedy conducted himself with Presidential gravitas and dignity. There was no such graciousness from the petulant, preening First Lady." According to Patricia Peabody Roosevelt, after the funeral Jackie sat "regally" on a nearby couch, trying to get someone to light her cigarette for her. The Roosevelt men "simply stared," so "with a resigned sigh," she lit her own cigarette. "This was the other Jackie, the beast behind the beauty; Jackie, the self- obsessed boor, playing coquette even as a nation mourned. She would get away with it this time, but in 1968 she would show her true colors." Later on in the story, it is said that Jackie was not embarrassed by her father's adultery, and instead often showing pictures of her father with his mistress to friends. Jackie loved to tell the story about her father's affair on his own honeymoon to all her friends. She also accepted her husband's own adultery in the White House, even though it made her look like a "Catholic doormat," no different than her mother Rose, whom she ridiculed. Jackie "was an American to the tips of her French manicure," and indulged in massive spending, to the tune of $3,000 per minute near the end of the 60s. Aristotle Onassis was "stunned by her sheer greed," and by 1970 was once again being seen with his best friend and love of his life, Maria Callas. He divorced Jackie only after showing muckraking columnist Jack Anderson the records of Jackie's spending; Anderson wrote about it, signalling the end of Jackie's marriage to Onassis. The story states that "Jackie seemed curiously incapable of keeping men interested in her," with all the men in her life turning to other women. "Perhaps Jackie was a Sphinx without a secret, a beautifully shod boor," the story speculates, noting that when she finally went into a career, her journalistic efforts were "pedestrian," "ghost-written," and "PR-driven." About her final affair with a married man, the story notes that "in a typically bitchy, last act, her final male companion was the husband of a woman who had been with him for half a century and who was heartbroken with the idea of a divorce." Rush notes that while American papers have played up the angle that Jackie was a victim of her philandering husbands, this paper states that she simply couldn't keep her husbands interested in her. It adds that when "Jackie tried to modernize, she looked like a slob," who was too old for blue jeans but nevertheless insisted on wearing them. According to the paper, "the nearest America has to such an iconic female presence" is Madonna, who nevertheless "was more like Joe Kennedy than Jackie, brash, swashbuckling, bedding every show-biz beauty she could and making every red cent she had." The story also compares Jackie to Princess Diana, as both were born into aristocratic families, were fashion-plates, and married well although not wisely. Diana, however, took on "a family vastly more powerful than the toy-town Kennedys and won," not to mention that Diana loved the masses while Jackie loathed them. The story also makes the point "that money can buy you happiness, but only if you made every penny yourself." Rush notes that there is more to this story, but he'll stop now. However, it can't be denied that the opinions expressed in it certainly could never be found in the American press. Barbara says she has heard some of these things, such as the Jack Anderson column which was mentioned. Rush says he had also read about Jackie's spending habits, but the idea that Jackie was a boor that couldn't interest the men in her life is something new. Perhaps the best line in the story was the one about "money buying you happiness if you earned every red cent." This is very true, and Rush thanks both his callers and hopes he has placated his audience by reading this story in the London Times. *BREAK* Rush adds that the London Times story also reports that Jackie Onassis betrayed women as much as her husband betrayed her, and that while Jackie was lonely, "some people deserve to be lonely because they're nasty." It compares Jackie with Marilyn Monroe, who came from nowhere and made more of herself because of her own efforts than any other 20th-century American women; she made a fortune and gave much of it away. Monroe was "ostensibly a brash bimbo" but was "truly a woman of substance," while "for Jackie, it was the other way around." Jackie then married Aristotle Onassis for her money, but Burchhill doesn't think this was anything new for her since she had married for money before when she married JFK. However, her marriage to JFK wasn't seen as a golddigger's dream because JFK was handsome and young, concealing Jackie's true motivations. However, "Onassis was older than the bride's mother, and was extremely ugly - of course Jackie married him for his money." Thus, according to the Times, Jackie was a cold, cruel, insensitive golddigger, a compulsive shopper and homewrecker who was unable to interest men. And again, this is a story that would never have appeared in an American paper. *BREAK* The latest excerpt from Bob Woodward's book "The Agenda" quotes James Carville asking a White House aide "where's the hallowed ground with this President?", meaning what does Clinton stand for. Phone Peter from Cleveland, OH Peter thinks the center of the Clinton administration is Hillary Clinton, whom the President has referred to as his "moral compass." Peter thus wonders just what Hillary wants to do now that she's gotten the power she's always craved, especially since the Clinton health care plan is Hillary's plan to control Americans' freedoms. Peter thinks it's criminal that nobody is even debating whether government should take over health care but rather how it's going to be paid for. If this health care plan can be paid for by taxing cigarettes out of existence, then what's going to stop the government from taxing cholesterol, beef, overweight people, and such? Rush says this is exactly right and is what he means about how the Clinton administration is full of people who are daily encroaching upon Americans' freedoms. Peter notes that while Bill Clinton might not have any solid principles, his wife does and those principles are socialist in nature. Peter is disheartened because otherwise reasonable people think that government should pay for health care. Rush says the way to deal with these people is to ask if health care is a right. If they answer yes, then ask if food, a car, or a job are rights, too? After all, you need these things before you need health care. This will get people thinking about this and how health care is believed to be a right because people in government have said so. However, those in government who want health care to be a right are really interested in putting government in charge of it, and this will allow government to punish any behavior it doesn't like. Peter says this is his point - why not tax people who ski or are overweight, since those things are dangerous, too. Rush notes that it is believed by some that AIDS will be the biggest single strain on the health care system in the near future, absent any cure. Most AIDS victims have gotten their disease through their behavior, so does this mean these people will be punished for their behaviors as well? Peter says that the AIDS disease has powerful political allies that prevent any rational discussion of this disease; the administration has turned AIDS into a sacred disease, killing any free speech about it. He wonders what ever happened to leadership that engenders a real discussion of ideas. Rush says that people like he and Peter are routinely called elitist, sexist, racist, and homophobic for daring to bring these matters up. The opponents have not only defined the terms of the debate but have also defined the terms themselves so that anyone who disagrees with them are racists and bigots. Thus, the answer to "what ever happened to leadership?" can be seen in what is happening to Oliver North. Peter says that the concept of free speech is all about getting all the ideas out and discusses, but this is not happening. Nobody, for example, is debating the merits of the Clinton health care plan as to whether government should be in charge; instead, the only thing being discussed is who is paying for it. Rush would disagree somewhat, because he believes that if it hadn't been for talk radio, the health care plan would have already been passed. The other members of the media haven't put forth the same critical analysis as talk radio has, but part of the problem is that people really have a lot on their hands just struggling with day-to-day life. They can't be as politically active or aware as one might like because of the demands of daily life. However, even so Rush thinks the Clinton health care plan is the liberals' last gasp at socializing America; if they fail here, they'll fail everywhere. Peter, though, wonders why nobody is challenging some basic assumptions of current government, such as how the tax code is being used to punish and reward certain practices and behaviors. The government has become a constant presence in people's lives, and it shouldn't be that way. Rush notes that the tax code has been used to modify the social architecture for years, but he agrees with Peter about these points. The reason the country will never have a flat tax or a simplified tax system is precisely because the current tax code gives those in Congress most of their power. Rush thanks Peter for calling and for making his points so succinctly. *BREAK* Phone Michael from Indiana Michael says he called into Rush's show about a year ago, but he wasn't able to get on the air. Bo thus arranged for him to be a caller to Rush's TV show, which motivated a local talk host to invite Michael on his own show. By the end of the night, he was offered his own show and became the youngest male radio talk show host in America. Rush thinks this is great and notes that he's often asked how he got started in radio by those hoping to do the same. Rush, though, is the last person to ask about this since he got his start on a radio station that was once co-owned by his father; however, Michael got his show by being a great guest, which is how many careers are made. Michael says doing a show like this is a great deal of fun, but also hopes to get into politics, too. Rush is gratified to hear this, and is proud that his own TV show launched yet another career in the broadcasting industry. He encourages Michael to stay dedicated and true to his desires, and not allow the naysayers in this cutthroat industry to discourage him. *BREAK* Phone Joyce from Yuma, AZ Joyce says that a lot of people are whining about how Clinton is being harassed by the press, yet the press is still suppressing all sorts of stories, such as the one Rush read about the rebuke Clinton got from the father of an Army Ranger who had died in Somalia. Rush notes that this exchange did not appear in American papers, but it was appeared in the British papers. EIB called this man to find out more about this, but he didn't want to go on the air. However, he was flabbergasted to have learned that this exchange had been reported at all because there wasn't anyone from the press in the room. Thus, someone in that room had to have leaked it to the London paper. Joyce says she is quite resentful of how the American press is not telling the people the facts; you can debate what the facts mean, but the facts should be reported. Rush agrees, and says someone told him of a TV show recently on which it was argued whether the "bashing had gone too far." Rush can't imagine this ever being asked about a Republican President.