RUSH: Back to the Democrats. They gathered together in Carson City, Nevada, for a so-called forum — (laughing) — Democrat forum on the campaign. It was supposed to be a debate. You want to know what this is really about. Hillary’s loser stance on the war dominated the first Democrat forum. ?As the front-runner, Mrs. Clinton drew perhaps the closest scrutiny.? This is the LA Times reporting. “In particular, over the 2002 Senate vote to authorize the war. Unlike others in the field, she has not apologized or called the vote a mistake. Asked about that, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut said Clinton will speak for herself, then mused on the difficulty public figures have acknowledging ignorance or error. Given her turn, Clinton was asked by ABC’s [and the former Clinton White House lap dog] George Stephanopoulos about apologizing. ?My vote was a sincere vote based on the facts and assurances I received at the time,? [she lied,] ?adding that the most important thing now was to focus on changing the direction of US policy.?? There were no assurances. We have the sound bites.
The Drive-Bys won’t play it. They will not go out and repeat for you what her Senate floor speech before her vote was all about. She said she independently investigated all this. She’s trying to now say she was tricked, that Bush misled her and so forth. We have a sound bite from Mrs. Clinton. And this, of course, was about Obama and the little spat that has erupted. I have to tell you something about this. There is a cardinal rule. What is Mrs. Clinton, 23, 24 points ahead of the guy in the polls? I’ve not totally abandoned my theory about the role of Obama in this campaign. I’ll get to that in just a second, explain that to you again. But there’s a cardinal rule, ladies and gentlemen, in all areas of competition, and that is when you’re at the top, you don’t talk about anybody else beneath you. All it does is elevate them and make them important. You ignore them. You don’t dare mention them. It’s only the riffraff at the bottom of the poll that start squawking and making noise about the team at the top. They’re entitled to because they’re at the bottom and it’s not going to hurt them.
I don’t understand, therefore, in one sense, although I do in many others, I don’t understand Mrs. Clinton giving Obama the time of day on this David Geffen thing. I don’t understand it. Ignore it. Who’s David Geffen? But that’s not the Clinton way. You don’t diss Hillary Clinton. You don’t disrespect Hillary Clinton. You do not criticize Hillary Clinton. You don’t do it. You don’t criticize her. If you’re a Democrat, you don’t criticize her husband. If you do, you are going to pay the price. It’s a mistake for her to do this. Now, my theory about this, and I’m not wedded to it, but it’s a possibility. Mrs. Clinton is the front-runner, she’s come out of the gate the front-runner, she’s entitled, she’s presumptive as the nominee and all of this. You know what happens to front-runners. They generally fade because somebody comes out of the pack, big surprise, and knocks ’em off. Bill Clinton was not the front-runner in the Democratic battles in 1992. He came from behind, had the Whitewater stuff show up in the New York Times, and Clinton showed he could defeat those SOBs, however he did it. He showed that he can overcome this.
You tell me the American people don’t want to win? The American people are sick and tired of Clinton, Inc., the American people, some Democrats, too. I read some Democrat websites last night and they are sick and tired of the Clintons. They’re tired of dynasties — Bush, Inc., Clinton, Inc., whatever it is, and they like this guy Obama slapping back and not taking this. Mrs. Clinton was asked about this. This is Stephanopoulos. ?Your campaign’s gotten into a bit of a press release scuffle with the Obama campaign today. It began with comments by David Geffen,? blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, ?but do you personally believe that Senator Obama should denounce David Geffen’s remarks??
HILLARY: I want to run a very positive campaign and I sure don’t want Democrats or the supporters of Democrats to be engaging in the politics of personal destruction. I think we should say —
RUSH: Come on, what a —
HILLARY: — what we’re going to do for America, and, you know, I believe Bill Clinton was a good president, and I’m very proud of the record of his two terms.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Should he denounce it? Should Senator Obama denounce it?
HILLARY: Well, I’m going to leave that up to the other campaign.
RUSH: What do you mean leave it up to the other campaign? Your campaign’s out there saying he should denounce it. What, are you not part of your campaign? You have Howard Wolfson suggesting that Obama is this or that, should stop, should shut up and make Geffen shut up, and he’s also out there calling Geffen the campaign finance chair for the Obama campaign, which he’s not. And that Obama should give back the money that Geffen raised! The problem is that Geffen’s not the campaign chair, a woman named Penny Pritzker from Chicago is, and she’s part of the Pritzker fortune, the family owns the Hyatt hotel chain. Last night on Hardboiled with Chris Matthews, he interviewed the Hillary Clinton communications campaign director Howard Wolfson. And Matthews said, ?You find what Geffen said vicious, I guess??
WOLFSON: I find it unacceptable political discourse, yes. Our expectation was that Senator Obama, who is running a campaign premised on changing our politics, who has decried the politics of slash-and-burn, would denounce the comments, say that these comments don’t represent his thinking or his campaign. We were, frankly, surprised that he didn’t do that. It makes you wonder whether or not he agrees with them.
WOLFSON: I’m saying what the campaign is thinking, exactly.
MATTHEWS: What’s the campaign?
WOLFSON: Senator Clinton’s campaign.
MATTHEWS: Is that different than her?
WOLFSON: Sometimes I’m going to speak, and sometimes she’s going to speak.
MATTHEWS: Does it mean that Hillary Clinton wants Obama to give the money back?
WOLFSON: Yes. If — if — if the campaign — the campaign speaks for Senator Clinton and speaks — absolutely.
MATTHEWS: But she said today she doesn’t care —
WOLFSON: Because she’s in front of a group of people who have come to hear her and the other Democrats.
RUSH: Wait a minute. She can’t be truthful in front of even Democrats? She leaves it up to you to tell the truth of what she thinks, but she don’t have the guts to say it, and she wants to be president? Mr. Wolfson, are you going to be the guy negotiating with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Back to the audio sound bites. Once a Clintonista, by the way, always a Clintonista. Bill Richardson says Obama should denounce David Geffen. He was asked this at this Carson City, Nevada, forum yesterday.
RICHARDSON: Yes. Because I think that if we’re going to win, we have to be positive. If there’s anything about Democrats in the last few years, being a governor I felt this, we just can’t criticize the president. There’s plenty to criticize. We should advance our own policies, our own solutions.
RUSH: Yeah, well, do what you want to do, but look at this, ?Stop criticizing each other! Stop criticizing each other!? Bill Richardson thinks that Mrs. Clinton shouldn’t be attacked. Here’s Obama last night in Iowa. He didn’t even bother showing up at Carson City, Nevada, in this forum. Obama responding to the Clinton War Room criticism, and he does not denounce Geffen’s comments.
OBAMA: My sense is that Mr. Geffen may have differences with the Clintons. That doesn’t really have anything to do with our campaign. I’ve said repeatedly, I have the utmost respect for Senator Clinton and I considered her an ally in the Senate and will continue to consider her that way throughout this campaign.
RUSH: Not backing down to the Clintons. The Clintons have ordered him to renounce Geffen and give the money back, and Obama says, “No, not going to do it. I respect Mrs. Clinton.” Obama, that won’t buy you much with the Clintons. And of course Geffen also had to ream Carville, said he’s tired of seeing James Carville on TV. Carville wasn’t crazy about it. Wolf Blitzer said, ?James, what do you think about Geffen’s comments??
RUSH: Well, interesting, isn’t it, that Carville’s advice to Hollywood guys, ?Open the wallet and shut up.? Now, they don’t tell these people to shut up when they’re out there bemoaning global warming or anything else, but don’t talk about the Clintons, open your wallet and shut up. Wolf then said, ?Well, here’s what Geffen said, James, about you. He said he’s basically tired of hearing James Carville on television.?
CARVILLE: That sentence is truly remarkable. People would say as annoying as I may be, how are you equating me with people like dying in a war. It goes — again, it just goes to show you that this guy lives in some world, how do you go tell 3,100 widows that James Carville being on TV is — it was —
BRAZILE: He might be jealous, James. He’s jealous.
CARVILLE: I’ll tell you what, Mr. Geffen. You can have my TV time. I’ll take your money.
RUSH: Wait a minute, that was Donna Brazile saying that Geffen is jealous of Carville? How can it be? They’re both bald. Well, shaved heads, what have you. But once again, he just thinks these Hollywood people are idiots. They’re eating their own, ladies and gentlemen. They’re eating their moneybags.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
A couple other thoughts occurred to me during the break that I want to comment on. This is Carville, he was with Wolf Blitzer yesterday, talking about the comments that David Geffen made about the Clintons and so forth after supporting Obama. By the way, have you noticed that all these liberals are now jumping the black guy. Here’s Obama, he’s black, and he’s black because people made him feel that way when he was a kid, not black because he decided it. He said this. And all these libs are jumping the guy now. Hillary’s jumping on the black guy, Bill Richardson jumping on the black guy. I mean, if liberals were honest, they would get out of the way and let him have the nomination, affirmative action. First black president and all that. Instead, they’re jumping the guy. Anyway, here’s the first Carville bite. Don’t need to hear the questions – just a couple things occurred to me in the process of listening to these.
CARVILLE: A Hollywood guy like that, you try to get him to open his wallet and shut his mouth, because, inevitably, he gets around Maureen Dowd, he’s going to make a fool of himself. Geffen is a guy that he — he — as much as he knows about politics, he knows that little — about Hollywood, he knows that little about politics. Somebody needs to say, hey, Bill Clinton has a 95 percent favorable among Democrats. This — this — this Geffen-led strategy of attacking Bill Clinton to win a nomination is — is — is indicative of — of Mr. Geffen’s political stupidity.
RUSH: All right, what’s the message? We’re not supposed to attack Bill Clinton. We’re not supposed to attack Bill Clinton. We’re not supposed to call Clinton reckless. We’re not supposed to say he and Hillary are good liars. We’re not supposed to do that. No, no, no, no, not permitted in the Democrat Party. Here’s the second Carville bite.
CARVILLE: That sentence is truly remarkable. People would say, as annoying as I may be, you know, how are you equating me with people, like, dying in a war? I mean, it goes to — again, it just goes to show you that this guy lives in some world that is — how do you go tell 3,100 widows that James Carville being on TV is — it was…
BRAZILE: He might be jealous, James. He’s jealous.
CARVILLE: I’ll tell you what, Mr. Geffen. You can have my TV time. I’ll take your money.
RUSH: What are we to conclude from this? Here’s what we’re to conclude. It’s real simple. We can undermine the troops. We can undermine the commander-in-chief. We can demoralize the troops. We can threaten and promise a slow bleed of the troops. We can deny them reinforcements. We can deny them troop rotations. We can deny them upgrades in equipment and armor. We can lose the war, we should lose the war! America should lose because Democrats own defeat, and we can unleash a genocide in Iraq by pulling out. But whatever the hell you do, don’t call Bill Clinton a liar. You can say whatever you want about Bush. You can say whatever you want about Limbaugh. You can say whatever you want about the troops. You can own defeat. You can rip your own country to shreds day in and day out. Don’t you dare criticize Bill or Hillary Clinton. That, my friends, is what you conclude from that.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
There is a real war going on in the Democrat Party, and the media is trying to underplay this as, you know, like a cat fight and a skirmish, but I’m going to tell you what’s really going on here. The Clintons are ticked off because Obama may in fact be the real first black president replacing the phony first black president, Bill Clinton. The whitest first black president from the scene. Make no mistake, this is about the black vote. This is all about the black vote. The Clintons, Hillary, not going to get anywhere without it. That’s why all these stories, “Is Obama black enough?” You think these aren’t coming from the Clinton War Room? Ha-ha. Guarantee you they are. Is Obama black enough? This is coming from the Drive-By Media! It’s about the black vote, in the primaries.
Look, somebody needs to ride to the rescue here, my friends. I, as you know, have been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. As such, I am prepared to moderate the fight now going on between the first black president, who is a white guy, and the first would-be black president who is half white and half black. I can bring a perspective to this that perhaps the participants can’t. I offer this, my peacemaking skills, to help the libs in this so that they end up embarrassing themselves further.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: More on the infighting going on now in the Democrat Party. It’s more serious I think than anybody believes. We’ve been having a lot of fun with it ourselves, starting yesterday, when we first heard about the Geffen-Obama-Hillary contretemps. But let me tell you what this is akin to. Hillary’s fight with Hollywood — and that’s what this is, a fight with Geffen is a fight with Hollywood — would be just the same as Republicans fighting with the evangelical wing of the party. It’s a very ominous sign for her that this is happening. It is truly ominous that a major Hollywood mogul is not just defecting, but is openly criticizing her and her husband. Think of McCain in 2000 and South Carolina ripping Bob Jones University and evangelicals and Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, whoever, evangelical worshipers. That’s what this is. If that were happening in place of this, you make book on the fact that the Drive-By Media would be talking about this, ?A major, major rift. Can the party survive?? blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Now, what Mrs. Clinton is trying to do is to isolate Geffen and make him the only Hollywood guy. They’re attacking him, and they have Carville out there on him, and they have Howard Wolfson on him, they’ve got Terry McAuliffe, The Punk. You’ve got all these people out there focusing on Geffen sending a message to the Spielbergs and the Katzenbergs and the whoever elses out there, both the management types, the owners, the actors, the key grips, the best boys, the whole schmooze. They are sending a message. The Clinton team is sending a message: it’s going to be only Geffen and they’re trying to put this fire out before it spreads. The Drive-Bys are trying to downplay this a bit and trying to make it funny or curious or what have you. Then you have the black vote as a serious component. That’s the thing the Clintons need. Bill Clinton is the first black president. He?s a white guy. And he’s afraid of the first real black president maybe being elected, who’s half white and half black, that would be Barack Obama.
Why do you think there are stories in the Drive-By Media about Obama not being black enough, as though Bill Clinton is but Obama isn’t? You think that just happens? It doesn’t just happen in Clinton, Inc. Also notice this. Who instigated this? Who really brought this to light? None other than MoDo, Maureen Dowd. Of what? The New York Times. Now, Maureen Dowd is a reliable whacked out liberal. It’s a shame how unhappy she is. I am tempted to think I could change that with just one dinner. You know me. I’m an eternal optimist. Just one. It would never happen, but we can fantasize. Nevertheless, she’s a reliable, whacked out lib. She was the voice for Geffen. She gave Geffen’s words amplification in the New York Times. Now, where’s the New York Times going to come down on this? The New York Times is now in the middle of a rift between the Clintons and Hollywood. They?re not going to get rid of her, don’t misunderstand, but I’m just telling you this is far more serious, even though it’s entertaining to us, it’s far more serious than anybody really knows.
This was supposed to be Hillary’s coronation. This whole thing, this whole campaign, this whole primary season, this was supposed to be her coronation. She wasn’t supposed to have to answer tough questions. She’s on the listening tour. She has the chat room there on her website. She’s not supposed to be dealing with any of this. This is not what was intended. This is a coronation. She’s angry that anyone would seriously contend her nomination. And so is Bill. This is every bit as much about him getting back to the White House as her. Don’t doubt that for a second. Now, Los Angeles Times today, “Gentle Jabs Turned to Punches for Clinton-Obama.” And get this, ?Her campaign chairman, Terry McAuliffe, recently warned donors that Clinton would remember those who did not back her. ?You are either with us, or you’re against us,? McAuliffe told potential donors during a dinner at Haim Saban’s house,? who is a big Hollywood producer and big honcho of the Clintons.
Now, when was the last time we ever heard you’re with us or against us? George W. Bush. George W. Bush and the war. This was after 9/11 and he was telling the world, ?You’re either with us or you’re against us,? you’re with the terrorists or you’re against us. It was a threat. The Democrats were just creaming him over it. They were just as mad as they could be. You don’t threaten the world! Here’s The Punk warning donors that Clinton, this is Hillary, would remember those who did not back her. You’re either with us or against us. You know, folks, warning that she would remember those who did not back her. That’s a threat. What does that mean? And whatever happened to diplomacy? Has anybody talked about diplomacy in solving this rift? I have. I offered myself to mediate.