RUSH: This is just off the press, actually it’s about an hour ago. This story from The Hill, Capitol Hill newspaper, the headline says it all: ‘Clinton camp –‘ (laughing) — I can’t keep a straight face doing this. (laughing) ‘Clinton Camp Says Obama Must Pass ‘National Security Threshold’ to be Veep’ Now, folks, this is not just chutzpah, this is a strategery. The Clintons are going to start now talking of themselves, speaking of themselves, they and members of their campaign, as though they are the nominee, as though she’s going to be the nominee. That’s what’s happening here. Obama is going to be positioned in Clinton campaign press releases and conversations as a potential vice president. ‘Senior advisors to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Monday sought to reconcile the campaign’s assertion that rival Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has not passed the ‘commander-in-chief test’ with the Clintons’ hints in recent days that the New York senator would tap Obama as a running mate. Howard Wolfson, Clinton’s chief spokesman, said during a conference call with reporters that Clinton would not pick a running mate who has not met the ‘national security threshold.” (laughing) This is just great. This is just fabulous.
Now, in the nineties when they did this, the press marveled, didn’t they? Let’s just see how they handle this one. ‘Wolfson repeated Clinton’s weekend assertion that picking Obama is ‘not something she would rule out at this point–” She’s number two and she doesn’t have a prayer of winning this nomination with pledged delegates. ‘–but he also repeated that Obama is not ready to be commander in chief, a key requirement to being Clinton’s running mate.’ (laughing) This is more than chutzpah, folks, this is when you have everybody’s testicles in a lockbox. I love this. Everybody’s now seeing this. All right, now, the Obama campaign may be illustrating that Hillary’s right! Last Wednesday on PMSNBC, Tucker Carlson spoke with Obama campaign advisor Susan Rice about competing red phone TV ads. He starts saying, ‘Susan, this is outrageous, this is incredible here,’ and here’s her answer. This is Obama’s senior advisor’s answer.
RICE: He hasn’t, and he hasn’t claimed that he’s been in a position to have to answer the phone at three o’clock in the morning in a crisis situation. That’s the difference between the two of them. Hillary Clinton hasn’t had to answer the phone at three o’clock in the morning. And yet she attacked Barack Obama for not being ready. They’re both not ready to have that three a.m. phone call. The question is, and what Barack Obama raised, is when that phone call is received for each of them for the first time, who’s going to make the right judgment? Who is going to make the right decision?
RUSH: Obama’s campaign advisor says neither Obama or Hillary are ready for that phone call which redounds to the benefit of who? McCain.