RUSH: Pensacola, Florida. Michelle, thank you for waiting. Welcome to the EIB Network.
CALLER: Hi.
RUSH: Hi.
CALLER: How are you?
RUSH: Good. I’m excellent. Never better.
CALLER: Well, good.
RUSH: Yes.
CALLER: I’m calling, I’ve just been listening for a short time.
RUSH: Hm-hm.
CALLER: But I’m curious about some of the stuff that you say. For instance, when you say what you hear is what we want you to hear, what do you mean?
RUSH: Well, it’s not really that complicated. But you gotta again put it in context. I said that we have been getting complaints, even from some of my closest friends, about the quality of callers today, that they haven’t been quite up to the usual intelligence of daily callers. And I got kind of angry because this assumes even my closest friends and some in the audience to many that I don’t know what I’m doing, and I do. So what I meant to say is every caller you hear is on the air for a reason.
CALLER: So if you do know, then I’m curious as a radio host, why not go into politics and do something good for our country?
RUSH: Well, as a new listener, you’re entitled to that question. I’ve been asked that question multiple times a week for 20 years, 20-plus years. And the answer is the pay cut.
CALLER: Okay. Okay. I’ll give you that. Then, as an American, why are you so anxious to have a division in our country? As I see it, I think Obama is trying to pull the country together, Republicans, Democrats, but you are bound and determined to only find and take out of context the things that you want us to hear rather than —
RUSH: Now, wait just a second —
CALLER: — acknowledging —
RUSH: — now, Michelle.
CALLER: Well —
RUSH: Now, wait just a second. Have you been listening to the program today?
CALLER: I’ve heard it off and on. I walk in and out of the office —
RUSH: I am praising Obama to the hilt today.
CALLER: So when you say —
RUSH: — you have wounded me to the heart.
CALLER: So when you say our fair leader, you’re not being sarcastic?
RUSH: Our great leader, our great brave president.
CALLER: Our great leader. You’re not being sarcastic?
RUSH: That’s for you to decide. You’re the listener.
CALLER: I think you are.
RUSH: Oh, you do?
CALLER: Yes, I do. I think you’re being very sarcastic, and I do think that you are trying to divide our country.
RUSH: Wait a second, Michelle. Are you saying that I’m being sarcastic today, that the things I have said about President Obama today are not true?
CALLER: No. No. I am sorry, Mr. Limbaugh, I don’t reference just today. I have heard your program —
RUSH: Well, but you can’t throw today out. I’ll talk to you in just a second about previous days. I’m going to answer every question you’ve asked me, but I want to know, you’re listening today, off and on, in and out. I have praised President Obama today.
CALLER: Go ahead, I’m sorry.
RUSH: Are you at work, are you talking to somebody else?
CALLER: Yes, I’m sorry.
RUSH: Very, very rude, very rude. I’m not talking to anybody.
CALLER: I am sorry. I apologize.
RUSH: All right, okay, okay, but I’m not talking to anybody else.
CALLER: Thank you.
RUSH: Now, I have praised President Obama to the hilt today.
CALLER: Today.
RUSH: And you don’t believe it. And you are one who wants Obama to succeed, and here you think you’ve got me, despite what you think of previous days, here I am, I’m totally on board, and you somehow still think I’m being mean.
CALLER: Well, when you said —
RUSH: It must mean that you don’t believe what I’m saying about Obama is true.
CALLER: No. Like your one caller, who said — you said that the president gave the order to shoot, and you ended it there. And then another caller of yours said, ‘if there is a threat.’ And so you took it out of context, to me, is what I got out of that.
RUSH: No, the caller was taking things out of context —
CALLER: Now, the caller finished the statement —
RUSH: I was placing things back in context. You see, once again, you listened to me give President Obama credit. We had a caller who said that Obama gave the order to shoot Saturday, but the shooting didn’t start until Sunday. And therefore, I was wrong when I said Obama gave the order to shoot. And I said, no, I’m not wrong. He gave the order to shoot Saturday. The Navy didn’t. They disobeyed. And there’s insubordination. He said shoot Saturday; they didn’t shoot ’til Sunday. I am in President Obama’s corner on this.
CALLER: Okay. Okay. Okay. And so the issue, you know, that’s not a huge issue as to which day, but —
RUSH: But it was to the caller.
CALLER: Huh?
RUSH: It was to the caller and it was to the NBC reporter, Jim Miklaszewski who asked the question.