RUSH: The Democrats in the media were just beside themselves over the stupidity of the formatting of this convention. You want to know how unified this party is, you want to know where the Clintons are? Listen to James Carville. This is on CNN’s America, a panel discussion about the first night of the convention.
CARVILLE: Well, well, if this party has a message, it’s done a hell of a job of hiding it tonight. I promise you that. Maybe — maybe we’re going to look better, you know, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. But right now, like I say, we — we’re — we’re — we’re playing ‘Hide the Message.’ I’m about to jump out the chair and say — I’m just saying you got four nights. There’s no — there’s no message coming outta here. There’s no sense that the party has a sense of urgency or any of that, and — and you know, only got four nights. This is 25% of the whole thing.
RUSH: Now, he’s clearly distressed here, but also know this. He’s not out campaigning for Obama. He is a Clinton loyalist. David ‘Rodham’ Gergen was asked if he agreed.
GERGEN: I do. I think Dave Carville (sic) put it, uh, uh, as succinctly and as — and as he always does, as colorfully as anyone might. And I thought, Anderson, listen, uh, I thought that they lost the first two hours of this with — with — with almost nothing going on the stage. This is a television show with a message. If you lose the first 25% of it, you’ve just frittered something away.
RUSH: They were all worried. They were all worried. (interruption) Well, because they came on the air at ten o’clock when the networks joined them with Jim Leach, a Republican from Iowa who is supporting Obama. I mean, I’ll tell you: If it weren’t for his varicose veins, this guy would be totally colorless. He’s a cadaver standing up there. They brought an old, wrinkly white guy up there. This guy could not… (sigh) The word ‘excitement’ I don’t think he even knows how to spell, and that’s what they came on the air with. Now, Jeffrey Toobin, their CNN legal analyst, was asked to comment on Michelle (My Belle)’s speech.
TOOBIN: There is one big missing piece tonight, I think, which is why the American people should throw the bums out. We haven’t heard one word about that. We have the most unpopular president in American history, and he’s barely been mentioned tonight. I just think that is an extraordinary gaffe. Democrats have never shown, at least in recent history, that they are good at negative campaigning. Republicans are terrific at it. And Democrats have been lousy at it, and I don’t think they were any good at it tonight.
RUSH: You think, this is beyond belief. This is just impossible to accept and keep your sanity. Democrats don’t know negative campaigning? How about ‘Bush = Hitler’? How about all the lies about Bush and Cheney for the last seven years on the Iraq war, Jeffrey? You need to stick to analyzing judges and legal decisions. Democrats don’t know how to negatively campaign? How about Carville turning Ken Starr into a sex pervert, in people’s minds? This is… They’re just so mad. The Drive-Bys hate Bush. They couldn’t understand it. There was no hatred of Bush in there last night. And here is The Forehead who is with Wolf Blitzer during a discussion of the convention speakers.
BEGALA: Who cares what Jim Leach says? I mean, no disrespect — well, some disrespect to him. I don’t really care what he says.
BLITZER: He’s a moderate Republican who supports Barack Obama!
BEGALA: They can have him. I can’t stand him.
VOICES: (giggling)
BEGALA: Um, eh, er, but they — and he’s unimportant and unworthy of being at this convention.
RUSH: (laughing) Now, contrast that. Here’s poor old Jim Leach. He’s just Chuck Hagel with white hair. They’re trying to show these Democrats how much they’re loved. They try to show these Democrats how much they respect ’em, that they’re not ‘typical’ conservative Republicans, and Begala says, ‘(blowing a raspberry!) I don’t give a rat’s rear end about Jim Leach. I don’t care — Well, I do have a problem. He has no right being here.’ They’re not interested in moderates. The Democrats don’t want moderates. (laughing) They were foaming at the mouth last night, folks, they were so dissatisfied with what they were seeing.